The Etoileige
by BurningWhiteStar
Summary: To the normal eye Ally Turner is your average girl but beneath everything she's someone special. So what happens when she leaves her previous school to start Hogwarts in the sixth year along with the Marauders? First fanfic! Please r&r!
1. New Beginnings

Having just walked through towards the platform, Ally Turner stopped to look at the steaming train which now stood in front of her. Students rushed about, greeting friends they hadn't seen through the summer or saying goodbye to family members. Butterflies twisted in her stomach as the realisation of being the new girl in school hit her. She turned her back on her soon-to-be-school mates and watched as her 'family' joined her on the platform. Her golden eyes looked at them apprehensively, knowing they would know immediately she was worried about today.

"You'll be fine darling" a tall, platinum blonde hair woman told her, smiling brightly, trying to ease the young girls mind. Ally tried a feeble smile, but knew it wouldn't convice her guardian.

"Cheer up Ally, I mean, look around you, the boys aren't so bad looking" the youngest member of the family besides Ally commented. With platinum blonde hair falling in a straight sheet, Sienna Beauvard was the spitting image of her mother, Sarah. Sienna's eyes roved the platform taking in the masses of pupils. Her mother sighed and shook her head, although not quite being able to hide the small smile that graced her features.

"One track mind, Si" her older brother commented half heartedly. At 17 years old, with messy blond hair falling over his eyes Max Beauvard was unknowingly claiming a lot of attention from a large portion of the female population of Hogwarts. Shaking his head at the sight of his sister looking about the platform, he turned his attention to Ally. Her golden eyes, in turn worried him. He knew she was a shy person and he didn't fully believe that she could cope with a change like this right now.

"You really will be fine Ally" he told her, lowering his voice so only she would be able to hear him.

"Fresh start might be good for you" Max continued, trying to reassure her. Ally merely looked at him, trying to steady her nerves. She loved them all, they were her family now, but there was still a part of her that wished her own mother and father would be here to send her off.

Three years ago, Ally, her mother and her father had been involved in a car accident. It had been a stormy night and the roads were wet. It was a blind bend and her father hadn't seen the other car coming. Ally could remember seeing the headlights flash on her face, hear the roaring of the thunder as the cars clashed together, and then the movement as the car rolled itself down the hill.

Ally shook her head, temporarily trying to remove the thoughts from her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about it. A clearing of the throat brought her back to the present, as she cast her eyes on the only member of the group who had been silent up until now. A blond haired man with hair like his sons and a gleaming set of teeth brought himself forward.

"Ally love, it's nearly time" Philip Beauvard stated quietly. Out of the four members of the family it was him who had the most obvious french twang. Ally looked over the four people stood in front of her and really didn't want to leave them. Her golden eyes shone even more brightly and Max sighed heavily.

"Come on Ally, it can't be as bad as before" he tried saying in a positive voice. He was, of course, referring to her previous school, Beauxbatons. Ally had previously been attending the french school, and had disliked it immensly. She had had no friends, and had been constantly ignored throughout her three years of being there. The only company she had kept was that of Max and Sienna, but even that was considered strange. Sienna was two years older than herself and Max three. Max and Sienna were extemely popular however, and Ally didn't want to be a burden to them. She tried to keep herself to herself, and had spent her three years at Beauxbaton almost in the library. Maybe it would be the same here, maybe it wouldn't, only time would tell.

Still not having spoken a word since arriving, a small cough behind her made her jump. Turning slowly she found herself face to face with a girl, roughly two years older than herself, with long red hair and emerald green eyes. A bright smile illuminated her face as she spoke,

"Hi, Nathalie, remember me? Lily Evans? We met when you came down to Hogwarts at the end of last year" she stated in a confident voice. Ally sighed slightly in relief, although she had cringed slightly at the use of her full name.

"Hi, sure I remember you, although you can just call me Ally" she stated, her throat feeling very dry. Her voice was quiet yet had a melodious ring to it.

"Well, we better get your stuff on the train, it's nearly time to go" she said with a smile, motioning at the trunk at Ally's feet. Ally smiled slightly and turned back to her family.

"I guess, I should go then" she said in a small voice, looking up at the four people stood in front of her. Sarah, Philip, Max and Sienna all carefully took in Ally's appearance and mentally sighed in relief at the apparent change in eye colour. They were no longer a bright burning gold, but a more dull gold, boardering on brown. Silently they thanked her parents for the extraordinary gift she had received.

"Write to us when you want darling" Sarah said brightly, swooping down to plant a kiss on both of Ally's cheeks.

"Yeah, and keep us updated with everything going on" Sienna added after her mother, moving in to kiss Ally on both cheeks as well.

"Stay out of trouble" Max stated, grinning, knowing this would be extremely easy, bending down to try and ruffle her hair, which she successfully dodged with a smile.

"Try your best, thats all you can do" Philip said in his deep french voice, kissing Ally on both cheeks.

Ally smiled up at her family,

"I will, I will" she reassured them all, a smile on her face, and her eyes now a deep chocolatey brown. She turned to Lily, who looked puzzled at first, but then a look of comprehension lit her face.

"Right let's get going" she said cheerfully, bending down to give Ally a hand with her trunk. Ally turned to give her family one last wave goodbye and was just in time to see them turn and walk back through the wall into the muggle world.

"What_ have_ you got in your trunk?!" Lily exclaimed as she finally managed to heave the trunk up the stairs onto the train. Ally gave Lily an apologetic smile, her eyes having returned to a bright, shimmering, liquid gold colour.

"I honestly have no idea, Sienna wouldn't let me pack" she said, a small playful smile playing on her lips. Ally followed Lily through the train, packed full of jostling students all trying to get a compartment.

After a while of continuous searching, they managed to find the compartment Lily had managed to bag earlier, within which held her own trunk.

"Here we are" she said, dumping Ally's trunk on the ground next to her own. She spun round to face the shy girl, who had walked cautiously in after herself.

"I would try putting them out of the way, but I know there's no way I'd managed that one" Lily explained to Ally, motioning to the luggage racks above their heads. She took a seat by the window and gestured for Ally to take the seat opposite her. Being careful to move at usual speed, Ally manouvered around the two trunks to the seat Lily had motioned to and sat down. She could feel Lily's eyes on her and looked across atthe curious expression lighting the red headed girls eyes.

"Can I ask you something? I really hope you don't find it too personal or anything" Lily began, her hands fidgeting in her lap slightly. Ally smiled slightly, thinking she knew what was coming. Her eyes, now a chocolatey brown colour, shone as she responded.

"Sure go ahead"

"Well, I was just wondering, well your eyes, they were golden before and now they're kinda, well, a chocolate brown. Is that because of," here Lily leaned in, obviously not wanting to be overhead by absoloutly anyone, "because of, you being, well, erm, well, special?" she finished cautiously, obviously trying very hard not to offend Ally. Ally merely smiled, silently congratulating herself on her correct guess.

"Yes, it's because of me being an Etoileige" she confirmed.

Ally Turner was no ordinary girl. At 5"5 she was relatively short, with mid length chocolate brown hair, she looked like your average girl. However it was her eyes that gave her away. The continuous changing of colour, reflected her emotions. The shimmering golden colour they had occupied earlier reflected the worry she had felt at starting a new school. The chocolate brown that now filled her eyes showed that she felt comfortable with the current arrangement. This changing eye colour was a very rare trait, not fully understood by a lot of people. Ally was an Etoileige which meant that she was "a star". The Etoiliege people were extremely uncommon, and found few and far between. Noone quite knew how they came about, but they knew that they existed. They were so named due to their ability to glow. When extremely happy and content, a glow would emit from their body, visibly shining. Ally just happened to be one of those blessed few with this amazing gift. Not only this but Ally was an amazing exception to the Etoileige race. She was the only known one that had the amazing ability to change her eye colour dependant on emotion. It had never been seen before. As well as this, Ally was entering her 6th year. However she was not 16 going on 17, she was in fact 14 going on 15. One of the special traits of an Etoileige was their mental development. They were gifted with intellect. Ally had the mental intelligence of a 16 year old, and when meeting with Dumbledore and her previous headmistress, it was decided that she would be moved up two years to help her.

Lily looked on at Ally with continued curiousty, but looked away, thinking this might make the younger girl feel uncomfortable

"So you looking forward to coming to Hogwarts? You're going to be in Gryffindor aren't you?" Lily questionned, moving their conversation on. Ally was grateful for her not lingering on the subject about her inheritance and replied readily and willingly.

"I'm really looking forward to it, I've heard Hogwarts is very difficult from my old school. And yes, I'm going to in Gryffindor"" she finished with a small smile. She remembered back to the day in Professor Dumbledore's office when the Sorting Hat had been placed on her head and had immediately told her what house she would be in.

"Well I'm sure you'll really like it, although there are one or two downfalls to it all" she added as an afterthought, a small frown placed on her face. Just as she had finished speaking the compartment door flew open and a loud shout of "LILY! I FOUND YOU AT LAST" could be heard.

Ally spun round the look at the new addition to their compartment to see a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed girl come charging in, making a bee line for Lily.

"Hey Fi" Lily greeted her friend with a hug as the girl took a seat next to Lily.

"I've been looking _everywhere_ for you, marching up and down the train, I've only just managed to get away from James with him whining about not being able to find you..." the girl chattered away at lightening speed, trailing off at the end finally noticing Ally sitting there.

"Oh sorry, you must think I'm so rude, I'm Fiona, Fiona Shorts" the girl smiled brightly at Ally.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Ally, Ally Turner" Ally responded, her eyes having returned to a shimmering golden colour.

_Dam, I'm really going to have to get my emotions under control_ she thought to herself, as she felt worry fill the lining of her stomach.

"Yes, this is Ally Turner, she's a transfer student, she's going to be in our year and she's in Gryffindor with us" Lily explained to her friend quickly, getting out the necessary information.

"Well it's nice to have you with us Ally" Fiona smiled politely at the young girl.

"So how was your summer Lils?" Fiona asked Lily and the two girls began to delve into conversation.

Ally sat back in her chair, watching as the scenary flew past her, hoping that this year wouldn't be too bad.


	2. Upon arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

As the journey wound on Ally found herself enjoying the company of the two older girls. Fiona still didn't know about Ally and her being an Etoileige, it just didn't seem right to tell her just yet. Ally was still slightly apprehensive about school and finding herself friends, although she hoped that both Lily and Fiona might want to be friends with her. They talked to her with ease, asking about her previous school and her life in France. Ally left out the bit about her parents, she didn't really want people to know about the accident, and the last thing she wanted was pity about it.  
Time whizzed on, and it had been just the three of them for the majority of the journey, one time just her and Fiona as Lily went off for prefect duty. However this was about to change, as another addition to their compartment had just arrived. The door slid open revealing a relatively short girl, roughly the same height as Ally, maybe an inch or two taller, with short jet black blunt, choppy hair. Her eyes were light blue in colour and she stepped gracefully into their compartment, smiling broadly.

"Hey guys" she greeted brightly, her voice matching her graceful movements.

"Alice!" the two girls exclaimed as both of them jumped up to envelope her in a hug. They all laughed as they hugged, seemingly very glad to see each other.

"It's nice to know I was sorely missed" Alice grinned, flashing a set of brilliant white, perfect teeth. Her eyes found Ally, sitting in the corner by the window.

"Oh hello, I'm Alice, Alice Welder" she introduced herself, moving forwards in Ally's direction. Ally herself, stood up to greet the girl.

"Hello, I'm Ally, Ally Turner, nice to meet you" she returned politely in her melodic voice, smiling at the girl. She sat herself back down as Fiona and Lily resumed their seats opposite, while Alice sat down next to Ally.

"Ally is a transfer student, shes going to be in our year and she's also a Gryffindor" Lily explained, saving Ally from doing so.

"Well it's always nice to have more Gryffindor's, I'm sure you'll enjoy it at Hogwarts" Alice replied, turning to smile at Ally.

"Thanks I hope I do too" Ally said, allowing the slight nerves to project into her voice.

Just as Fiona opened her mouth to say something the compartment door opened, for the second time in a few minutes. Turning to look she saw three figures at the doorway, beginning to make their own way in. Lily looked over and groaned, banging her head against the window. Ally looked quizzically at Alice and Fiona, and saw the latters eyes widen. Ally was now suprised and glanced quickly at her reflection in the window to see her eyes had turned a bluey green colour.

_Control yourself Ally_ she thought to herself, just as the first person walked, or should it be said, strutted into the room. She turned to see the new comer, of whom it turned out to be a very good looking boy, of about Lily's age.

"Well hello Evans" he greeted, ruffling his raven coloured hair, flickering his hazel eyes over to where Lily had her head laid against the window, eyes closed.

"Potter" she greeted with an extremely cold voice, as the boy took a seat next to Alice, so as he could look at Lily much better. The quizzical look remained on Ally's face as she looked first at Lily, and then at 'Potter', then at Fiona, who shrugged with a 'I'll-tell-you-later' look. Ally's puzzlement turned to curiousity, as she turned to regard the other figures emerging into the compartment. The next boy in was slightly, ever so slightly smaller than the first but, in Ally's opinion much better looking. His shaggy hair, slightly covered one of his stormy grey eyes, as he strolled leisurely in.

"Evans, Shorts, Welder" he stated, nodding at each girl. He took a seat next to Fiona as his stormy grey eyes found the bluey green ones of Allys. She felt heat rising into her cheeks as she broke eye contact and looked down at her hands. However the sound of another set of footsteps made her raise her head to look at the next, and seemingly last person to enter. The boy was about the same height as the last, but with sandy coloured hair and chocolate coloured eyes. His smile was warming as he entered.

"Hi Lily, Alice, Fiona" he greeted, his eyes lingering on the latter, causing Fiona to smile cheekily. Ally quickly noted the difference in the way the boys greeted the girls, and was slightly puzzled by this. However she didn't have long to dwell on this until she was brought to attention.

"And who do we have here?" the boy with stormy grey eyes asked, his voice husky. His eyes remained on her, as if they were boring right into her, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He made her blush and she turned towards Fiona who looked as if she was taking it upon herself to explain.

"This is Ally Turner, she's a transfer student in our year, and also in Gryffindor" she explained to the three boys that had now joined them in the compartment. She felt three sets of eyes on her as the boys took in her appearance.

"And this is James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin" she said pointing first to the raven haired boy, then to the boy with stormy grey eyes, and lastly to the boy with sandy coloured hair. The boys all smiled warmly at her and she smiled back, feeling slightly more at ease.

"So what are you lovely ladies up to?" James asked, moving conversation on. Alice and Fiona both rolled their eyes at his comment and looked as if they were about to respond, when Lily's sharp voice got in there first.

"That's none of your business" she snapped, suprising Ally with her tone of voice. Fiona sighed and put a hand to her head.

"Ah come on Evans, you know you want us here really" James replied cockily, his mouth turning up into a boyish grin, which Ally suspected melted a lot of girls hearts.

"Take a hike Potter" Lily replied acidly, clearly irked by his appearance in the compartment. The tension in the compartment mounted but was soon broken by a slight coughing.

"We're nearly at the castle, come on guys we need to change" Remus said standing up and making his way to the door, for which Lily finally opened her eyes to smile very gratefully at him. It was clear that James and Sirius didn't share the same sentiments and both got up grudgingly.

"See you at dinner, nice to meet you Ally" James said, making his way out of the compartment, giving Lily one final look as he headed out of the door. Sirius was the last one to leave and he sauntered out, stopping at the door to take one final look back at the girls, his eyes lingering on Ally. A simple nod and a cheeky smile later and he was gone.

"What _was_ all that about?! I've never heard Black so quiet since I've known him" Alice asked, clearly puzzled by his behaviour. Fiona simply looked at Ally, one eyebrow raised and a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Ally looked as puzzled as Alice and looked at Fiona who just shrugged like she knew something Ally didn't.

"Who knows" Fiona merely said, before glancing over at Lily.

"Ah come on Lils my cousins's not that bad" she said, trying to console her friend.

"Yeah you're right...he's worse" Lily muttered, lifting her head from the window and getting up to stretch.

"Come on guys we had better get changed" and with that she began to get out her school uniform and robes, motioning for the rest of them to change as well. Fiona and Alice both exchanged a look before sighing in resignation and getting up to change, with Ally following suit soon after.

Not half an hour later the train came to a halt at the village of Hogsmede. It was dark by now but Ally's eyes adjusted to the dim light quickly. She followed the three girls, stumbling slightly on her school robe. At her previous school the uniform had been extremely light, and the cloak short. They hadn't needed a long or thick cloak when the weather was nearly always very warm. Ally figured she would get used to it soon enough. As she stepped onto the platform she felt the cold wind whip round her, stinging her cheeks. She hugged her uniform closer to her body in the hope to retain more heat as she weaved her way through the crowds of students, trying to keep up with Fiona, Alice and Lily. After a while she managed to catch up with them as they stopped by carriages being pulled by, what Ally could only describe as skeletal looking horses. She looked at the horses in wonderment, pondering over exactly what they were. The other three girls didn't seem to notice them at all, and Ally didn't want to seem stupid by asking exactly what kind of creatures she was currently looking at. However she didn't have too long to puzzle over the mysterious creatures as she heard her name being called.

"Come on Ally, you're letting a draft in!" Lily exclaimed, beckoning her into the carriage with the other two girls. Hurridly she jumped in, and, as soon as the door shut, the carriage began to move to Hogwarts.

The girls chattered excitedly, filling Ally in on everything they thought she ought to know before actually arriving there. A lot of things didn't really mean much to her at the present time but she guessed that she would soon figure it all out when she actually entered the school. Not soon after, the carriage stopped and Ally opened the door and jumped out to be faced with a giant castle looming over head.

"It's so big" she muttered anxiously to herself, while wondering how she would ever figure out her way round the place.

"Don't worry, you'll soon find your way round easily" Alice murmered quietly, coming to stand next to her. She turned and smiled gratefully at the girl as Fiona began to moan.

"Come on guys, quit standing around, I'm _starving_" she whinged, starting to tug at Alice's sleeve.

"Alright, alright, we're coming!" Alice exclaimed, rolling her eyes in Ally's direction before allowing herself to be pulled into the direction of the two entrance doors. Ally and Lily followed suit, along with the tens of other pupils all eager to get to dinner. As she walked in she took in the magnificence of the building, the character that the very castle contained. Ally couldn't stand there too long though and so she quickly followed Lily through to the place she supposed they would eat. However when she stepped foot into the room she stopped short and gasped. It was massive, filled with four long tables running the whole length, with a long bench located right at the top of the room running at a nintey degree angle to the rest of the tables. She guessed these were the house tables the girls were telling her about earlier and she looked around at all the students who looked perfectly at home here.

"Amazing isn't it? This is the Great Hall" Lily explained as she gently led Ally further into the room where she suddenly stopped to join Alice and Fiona who had already taken a seat at the Gryffindor table. Ally sat down next to Lily and continued to look around her as various other boys and girls of different ages sought out friends and joined them at their respective house tables. She looked down at the table at her fellow house mates and wondered how she would ever get to know all of their names. After another five minutes of frantic movement into the Hall a small clinking of cutlery against glass could be heard from the top table. Ally turned her head to see that nearly all the staff had arrived and that the Head Master, Professor Dumbledore was clearly trying to get their attention. He said nothing but merely waited as the doors of the Great Hall opened and in came another of the Professors leading a bunch of much smaller children into the Hall. Ally could only guess that these were the first years, but she wondered exactly what was going to happen. She didn't have to wait long as the Professor came to a stop at the very front and perched an old patched hat ontop of a stool. Ally instantly recognised the Hat and as it's brim began to open and burst into song she looked around the Hall at the faces of the other students, as well as the new first years; some of whom looked at the hat in wonderment, and some in boredom. Finally the song drew to a close and their was a polite round of applause by all. After this, the names of the little ones were read out and each came up to the stool, where the Hat was placed on their heads and they were sorted into the four different houses. Ally thanked her lucky stars that she had already been sorted so that she didn't have to be up there with the rest of them.

After this whole process had taken place, (through which Fiona's stomach could be heard constantly) Professor Dumbledore made a few announcements with regards to a forest being forbidden. At this Ally turned to Lily who simply whispered to her that she would tell her later, and then after a merry 'Tuck In' the food appeared and Ally was astounded. There was every food she could imagine and she quickly loaded her plate up and tucked in happily, listening and sometimes joining in with the conversation around her.

After plates were cleared and stomachs full, the remaining food vanished and the pupils looked up expectantly at Professor Dumbledore.

"I think a good night's sleep is in order so that you'll all be ready and alert for lessons tomorow. Off to bed with you all now" he told them all cheerfully and waved his hand dismissing them all, his blue eyes twinkling through his half moon spectacles.

"Oh I'd better go and show the fist year's where to go. The passwords Pastry Pumpkins by the way" Lily rushed and with that she was off, motioning for the timid first year Gryffindors to follow her.

"Pastry Pumpkins?! What loon made that one up?!" Fiona exclaimed whilst shifting herself out of her seat.

"Merlin only knows" Alice replied as she too got up, albeit a little more quickly than Fiona who had stuffed herself silly at the feast.

"Come on Ally, we'll show you the way up" Fiona breathed, after managing to heave herself up. Ally pushed herself up and trapeised out of the Great Hall and up the great spiralling staircase (jumping the trick step when instructed to do so) towards the Gryffindor common room. As they progessed further along, streams of students left to go to their own common rooms, the Ravenclaws seemed to climb up more and more stairs whereas the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs hadn't even begun to climb the stairs from the Great Hall. Ally wondered where their common rooms were, but didn't pose that question just now.

Shortly after starting the stair climbing journey they stopped outside a portrait of a Fat Lady.

"Password" she asked them, eyeing the three girls up warily.

"Pastry Pumpkins" Fiona drawled impatiently, clearly wanting to get inside quickly. On hearing the correct password the portrait swung open to reveal a short passageway through which the girls now walked. After a few seconds they had arrived in a large, but very cosy room, decorated in gold and red. A large fire place roared to the right of the room and more stairs could be seen directly in front.

"Well this is the main common room" Alice explained, sweeping her hand over the large expanse of the room.

"Come on we'll show you the dormitories now" Fiona said, trying, but unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. WIth Fiona in the lead, Alice and Ally followed her up the stairs where they finally reached a fork.

"If you go to the left, that's the boys dormitories. We're allowed to go in theirs but they can't get into ours" Alice explained, seeming somewhat relieved with this. Ally tried to retain this information as they took the right turn up more stairs where they passed several doors. At last, they reached a door which said 'Sixth Years' and Alice and Fiona entered, Ally following them in. As she stepped in she saw four, four poster beds situated in a semi circle around the room. Each looked warm and inviting and Ally hurridly found the bed next to her stuff.

"As you can probably tell the bathroom is through that door at the end" Fiona mumbled slightly incoherently as she began to get changed into her pyjamas.

"Breakfast starts at half seven and lessons don't start until nine" Alice continued as she began to walk towards the bathroom with wash stuff.

"G'night guys, oh, and welcome to Hogwarts Ally" Fiona managed to say through her yawn. Ally smiled as she too snuggled down into her satisfyingly warm bed.

_I think I'm going to like it here_ was her last though as she allowed herself to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

--

**A/N: Well there it is...chapter 2 up!! I hope you like it, and please review! Thankyouuuu**


	3. The First Day

**A/N: Thankyou to those who have reviewed! I appreciate all the comments left ) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Ally's POV

The next morning dawned bright and early and my bodily alarm clock woke me up at seven. As I opened my eyes I looked around, not knowing where I was. As this realisation hit me I sat bolt upright in bed, beginning to panic. What had happened? Where was I? And then the events of yesterday hit me, as I remembered I was now at Hogwarts. I couldn't help but be a tiny bit nervous about the prospect today held; my first day of lessons. Not just any old lessons; sixth year lessons. As I thought this I began to worry a little bit more, and I knew without having to look that my eyes would now be golden in colour. I sighed quietly and heaved myself out of bed, only to see Lily emerge from the bathroom fully dressed. As she shut the door quietly behind her she looked up and was seemingly suprised to see me awake,

"Morning" she whispered brightly, almost encouragingly.

"Good morning" I replied as quietly as I could so as to not wake the two still sleeping girls in the room.

"Well at last, it's nice to have someone who wakes up at the same time as myself" she continued in a low voice, grinning at me and then motioning to the sleeping forms of Alice and Fiona."These two are always late risers" she explained as she made her way over to her bed and started collecting her books.

"I'll wait for you downstairs while you get dressed and everything then we can go down to breakfast together" she told me, for which I was grateful. I was worried that I would be the only one up, or the last one up, and no-one would show me the way how to get downstairs. If I was new at Beauxbatons I'm pretty sure that that's what would have happened there. I simply nodded an ackowledgment to Lily and she swept quietly out of the room, leaving me to tiptoe around getting ready.

I severely disliked the school robe, but I figured the uniform wasn't bad at all. A simple grey skirt, white shirt, a red and gold Gryffindor tie and a grey jumper, along with black tights. I didn't want to put my school robe on just yet and so I left it on the end of by bed, next to my bag. I looked in the mirror, taking in my appearance, wondering what to do with my hair. At the moment it was down, straight, but in the end I decided to put it up in a messy bun, leaving whisps of it out to frame my face along with my side fringe. I quickly checked my face to make sure that my scar was hidden. Turning my head to look at it from different angles I was relieved to find it could not be easily seen. This was just one of the three scars that I had been left with after the accident. Knowing Lily was waiting for me downstairs I knew I should hurry up and so I quickly grabbed my satchel along with my robe and my wand of course and headed down the stairs, shutting the door quietly after myself.

As I got closer to the common room I could hear two low voices talking. Rounding the last corner of the stairs I saw Lily and one of the boys from the train yesterday, Remus I think his name was. They turned as they heard me approach and both smiled warmly at my appearance.

"Right you all set to go then?" Lily asked me, looking at me with slight concern. I guess my eyes were still that golden colour then.

"Yup, sure" I replied trying to inject some enthusiasm into my voice. Lily still looked concern, the enthusiasm obviously got lost then. Oh well, at least she knew how I felt and maybe she would try and help me through the day. We ambled through the castle, Remus and Lily mainly talking whilst I tried to take in my surroundings and get my bearings. I hoped that I would gain a sense of direction quickly in this place, I really didn't want to end up lost and asking people for help. In fact, that's the very last thing I wanted. I focused hard, building up a mental map in my head as we travelled down the stairs, taking lefts and rights at different intervals along the corridors.

"Are you okay there Ally?" Lily's voice suddenly drew me back to the present and I snapped my head up quickly. I watched as her facial expression froze and then, almost in the same instant became curious. I wondered why and pondered to think when I saw her own eyes draw up to meet mine. Ah. The eyes. I had temporarily forgotten about that. Let's see. I was focusing on building a mental map of the castle. Concentration. A bright silver colour. I tried shaking my head before Remus noticed anything strange and thought about the long day ahead. New lessons. New challenges. That's it. My eyes, I prayed, had gone back to the shimmering golden colour they were just a few minutes before. Relief was evident on Lily's face and so I took this as a healthy sign to be able to make eye contact with both herself and Remus,

"I'm fine, just trying to build up a map of the castle" I explained in a small and rather shy voice.

"You'll pick it up in no time, I'm sure" Remus smiled reassuringly, having just spoken to me for the first time this morning. I merely nodded, a small smile being returned in his direction and we descended down the last flight of stairs where the Great Hall now swam into view.

"So our common room is on the seventh floor?" I questionned as we entered the basically deserted dining area, taking seats in the middle of the Gryffindor table.

"You learn quickly" Remus remarked, looking at me curiously, at which point I blushed and looked downwards.

_If only you knew_ I thought quietly to myself. Thankfully Lily moved conversation on, asking Remus to remind her of the subjects he was doing. Glancing down at my watch I saw that it was approximately 7.29, meaning that breakfast should techincally be served in a minute. And indeed, after a few seconds of waiting I was rewarded with a large choice of breakfast foods. _Old habits die hard_ I thought as I reached for a bowl of whole grain cereal in which I then proceeded to pour some milk on and dig in. I listened contentedly to Lily and Remus's conversation, tension and worry building in the pit of my stomach as the time wore on. At around 7.45 the number of students in the Great Hall had increased, although only slightly, and I had a feeling the majority of the Hogwarts population wouldn't even consider getting up until about 8.30, giving them half an hour to eat and get to lessons. After finishing my cereal I looked around the table to see if there was any orange juice. I had informed Professor Dumbledore of my dietry needs and he had reassured me that they would be met. Sure enough I soon found a jug of orange juice to the left of me, and, looking down I saw a plate of lemons. Smiling I poured myself some orange juice and happily sipped away.

"Orange juice?! Since when did we start having orange juice?" Lily wondered, looking down at the jug infront of her. WIth a slightly puzzled expression on her face she looked up at me and then it dawned on her.

"Ohhh, never mind, I guess there's always time to start something new" she gushed quickly, earning herself a strange look from Remus.

You see, as an Etoileige there were certain foods I needed to eat. To be able to keep up my strength, and in order for me to 'glow' (I really hated that word) I had to eat yellow and orange coloured foods, mainly oranges and lemons. Professor Dumbledore was extremely understanding and told me that I needn't worry about obtaining these foods, and that they would be available for me at all three meals of the day.

Not soon after this exclaimation by Lily, we were joined by a sleepy looking Fiona and Alice.

"Morning Alice, Fi" Lily greeted them happily. She received a yawn and wave of the hand from Fiona and a small smile from Alice.

"Morning Lily, Ally, Remus" Alice replied, digging into a plate of eggs and bacon. I simply sat there and listened as they converesed, talking about the day ahead of them and what lessons they wished they would and wouldn't have.

"What's your favourite subject then Ally?" Fiona asked me (perking up considerly as she ate).

"Erm probably Charms and Ancient Runes, although I like them all really" I admitted with a small shrug, not enjoying the attention being given to me at the moment. I'm not one that likes the spot light. I've always been a part of the background, never standing out, just kind of, well just being there I guess. So with all these people actually wanting to talk to me and find out more, well lets just say it was kind of a new experiance. All four of them smiled encouragingly at me, but before anyone could say anything further three more people joined us. I recognised James and Sirius from the train yesterday but they were now joined by a much smaller and much rounder boy. He looked the most odd out of the four boys sitting there, considering they were all extremely good looking and he was just, well just average it could be said.

At the joining of these three Lily's eyes narrowed and Alice and Fiona shared a look.

"I'll go ask McGonagall for our timetables" she said icily and quickly and fluidly rose from the table before anyone could say anything else.

"Well at least you know you have some sort of effect on her Prongs" Sirius told James grinning, slapping his friend on the back. Prongs? What kind of a nickname was that? I shrugged it off, boys will be boys and all that. James didn't look in the least bit happy and moodily shoved food in his mouth.

"How come you didn't wake us up Moony?" James grumbled, looking in Remus' direction. First Prongs now Moony?! What was the world coming to?!

"If I woke you up at the 'unearthly' hour of seven, you probably would have cursed me into oblivion" Remus remarked, a sly smile on his face. James faltered for a second before shrugging his defeat and continued to eat. Throughout this exchange I thought I could feel a set of eyes on me and I glanced up, only to see a pair of stormy grey eyes looking in my direction. I blushed, just like yesterday on the train, and quickly finished of my orange juice before I looked up again, trying to see if I could see Lily.

That was the second time I had felt Sirius Black looking at me.

Sirius' POV

I couldn't help but look at her. There was something about her, that got me. Hmmm. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. _Come on Sirius man. You can get any girl in the school_. This thought seemingly cleared my head and I looked around the Great Hall, catching the eye of numerous amounts of girls. Winking at a few of them, I turned my attention back to the most important matter at hand. Breakfast. I hurridly shoved food in my mouth, earning a reproving look from Moony whilst doing so. I flashed him a quick grin as I continued to feed my stomach which had been groaning loudly at the lack of food since I had woken up not long before. As this process continued I heard a disgruntled sound being emitted and I looked up to see Evans staring down at me in disgust. I smiled widely at her, at which point she turned away from me and handed out timetables to Fiona, Welder, Moony and the new girl Ally. I watched as she looked over her timetable, her eyes brightening slightly, but still brilliant gold in colour. I had never seen someone with those colour eyes before and it was as if they drew me in. It seemed as if she had quickly read her timetable and now she looked up, her eyes finding my own. I held her gaze there for a second before she broke it and hurridly stood up, standing next to Evans, apparently wanting to go to lessons. I shook my head and let an exhasperated sigh escape my lips. Not another book worm.

"What's up Pad?" James asked me, obviously hearing the sigh that had just been issued.

"Nothing, nothing" I replied quickly waving away his question with a flick of my hand. His eyes narrowed slightly but his attention was quickly raptured over the movement of Evans walking past.

"Looking good today Evans" he shouted after her. Honestly, did he really think she would pay any attention? I couldn't help but shake my head at the naivity of my friends actions but said nothing on the matter. Evans payed absoloutly no attention to him and continued walking, turning a few heads in the process. It was a well known fact that Lily Evans was one of the hottest girls in school, maybe even the hottest. But now it looked as if she had competition. As Evans walked out of the Great Hall, the boys that had been turning to watch her, now turned to take in Ally. As a new girl she would get a lot of attention anyway but it seemed that she would get more than the average new person. It looked like Ally Turner was going to get a lot of male attention here.

Ally's POV  
I walked out of the Great Hall accompanied by Alice Fiona and Lily, all of whom were in my first lesson of the day; Transfiguration. I was apprehensive, this was going to be my very first sixth year lesson. I really didn't know what to expect, and I hoped that it wouldn't be anything _too_ hard. As we began walking up the stairs I allowed my mental map to crop up in my head as I added another set of stairs and passages to it.

"So our classroom is towards the eastern end of the second floor?" I asked Lily, hoping that I would be right, I know it would sure boost my confidence levels if I was. Lily regarded me with a bemused expression,

"Yeah you're dead on" she replied, a smile gracing her face. Thankfully she didn't ask me too much about it and we milled around outside the classroom, waiting for the lesson to begin.

We didn't have to wait long and soon our Professor swept passed us, ushering us inside. On entering I quickly checked her name, Professor McGonagall. Ah yes, now I knew, as well as being our transfiguration teacher she was also our head of house. Smiling nervously I stepped further into the room only to walk right into Lily's back. I stumbled back, thankfully not losing my balance and falling over, and righted myself quickly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, standing next to Lily. However Lily wasn't given a chance to answer as Professor McGonagall began to speak.

"After quite a few, _disruptions_ last year" she began, casting a meaningful look over at Remus, James, Sirius and the other boy who's name I did not yet know, "I have decided to give you a seating arrangment. It is clear that _certain_ members of the class have not yet matured enough to be able to chose their own seats. Please find your names quickly and quietly and settle down as soon as you are seated". With that the usual hustle and bustle began and I quickly tried to find my name. The thought of being given a place to sit un-nerved me slightly, I could be stuck beside any old random person. It was clear I was not at the back and so I began to move forward, now desperate to find my name. Thankfully, second row to the front I found my name and looked down at the person I would be sitting next to. A smiling Remus Lupin looked up at me and pushed back my chair for me to sit down.

"Oh, uh thanks" I replied with a shy smile and sat down hurridly, quickly glancing round to see where everyone was. Fiona was sitting next to a girl I didn't know, although she was wearing a Ravenclaw coloured tie, Alice was seated next to a boy who looked to be from Gryffindor, but I had no idea who he was. And last, but not least, I spotted Lily sitting right at the back of the classroom wedged between Sirius Black and James Potter.

"Looks like she's ecstatic about the arrangement doesn't it?" I heard someone by my left whisper, amusement present in his voice.

"I think that's a bit of an understatement" I replied with a small grin, looking at Remus, who returned it. This seating arrangement didn't seem too bad in my opinion, at least I was next to someone I had already met.

Professor McGonagall then cleared her throat and I straightened up slightly, ready to focus on the lesson in hand.

"Today we will simply be going over a few of the spells we started at the end of last year. There were a few of you who had a few problems concentrating on these spells which is why I have decided to revise them. Now I will simply pass out a pincushion to you all and I expect you to turn them into hedgehogs. You may begin as soon as you are ready" and with that she levitated a huge bundle of cushions around the room, depositing them on each persons desk.

I swallowed quickly and loudly and thought over the incantation. At school, Max and Sienna had both taught me some things that they were studying, as I had found my lessons too easy and needed a challenge. I remember Max showing me this particular spell and I focused on this memory now.

_Inanimate vigoro_ I thought to myself a few times. I could feel Remus watching me but I pushed this thought out of mind as I prepared to do the spell. I could hear a few people around me already trying, whether or not they were successful I did not know as I was concentrating solely on what I was doing.

_Inanimate vigoro_ I thought, pointing my wand at the pincushion which transformed before my eyes into your average garden hedgehog. I heard a sharp intake of breath above me and I looked up to see the towering form of Professor McGonagall above me. Wondering what I had done wrong I looked up at her worridly, feeling my silver eyes transform rapidly into the golden colour of worry.

"You can do non-verbal spells?" she asked me hesitantly, curiousity evident in her voice. The rest of the class had stopped what they were doing and I could feel several pairs of eyes on my back, watching and waiting for the my answer.

"Yes" I replied as quietly as I could, but making sure Professor McGonagall could hear me.

"Amazing, amazing" she mumbled quietly, but my delicate ears picked this up clearly.

"Thirty points to Gryffindor" she said, regaining her normal tone of voice. Looking up she saw that the rest of the class had stopped to witness the unusual event unfold before their eyes.

"The rest of you, back to work, I still see pincushions and not hedgehogs on your desk" she barked, making the rest of the class jump and hurridly begin to poke and prod their pincushions with their wand. Professor McGonagall gave me a weak smile before sweeping off to watch over the progress of my fellow classmates.

"Well done" I heard a voice from beside me say and I looked to my left to see Remus smiling at me.

"Oh, er thanks" I replied extremely embaressed by the whole situation, and I sat there, watching as everyone else said their incantations aloud.

"Have, have non-verbal spells not been taught yet?" I asked Remus hesitantly, wondering if it was wrong of me to know this. He seemed to pick up on my line of thought.

"Don't worry, it's not wrong for you to know this. But in answer to your question, no. We haven't been taught yet. Looks like you're going to be ahead of the class at this rate" he said, a small grin finding its way on his face, as he turned his attention back to his own pincushion, which then proceeded to turn into a hedgehog after he said the incantation aloud.

Today was going to be an interesting day.

Sirius' POV

So, the new girls a clever one. Should have guessed from this morning. No wonder Evans seems keen to get her as a friend. I watched as Moony spoke to her, by the looks of things complimenting her on her wand work, judging by the blush that found its way on her cheeks. But why was I watching her so intently? She was just like any other girl that this school had seen. But straight after thinking this I knew I was wrong. There was something about her, something different which I just couldn't quite put my finger on. A small growl from my left took my head out of the clouds.

"Get those ideas out of your head right now" I heard Evans say fiercely. I turned to look at her to see a frown and a look of anger on her face. This made me grin which in turn made her scowl even more.

"Now what ideas might these be Evans?" I asked, almost teasingly. I tried to keep my tone as pleasant as possible, James was looking at me with his face set in a hard expression. It was a 'don't-mess-with-my-lily flower' kinda look.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about" she growled in a very low voice. As she was saying this she turned her attention to the front, looking in a specific direction. I turned to follow her line of sight and watched as it fell on Turner, now watching Moony as he successfully turned his own pincushion into a hedgehog. I turned back to Evans, my grin widening further.

"Thoughts about Moony? Dam, looks like I've been found out" I reposnded cheekily, knowing it would wind her up further. Success. She turned redder and snapped her head to look at me again.

"You're not funny Black. You know what I mean and I'm telling you, leave her" she said in what I guessed she thought her 'scariest' voice possible. Why was it any of her business anyway? I could go out with any girl I liked. And now she had given me a great oppertunity.

"Looks like you've just presented me with a challenge Evans" I grinned cockily, casting an eye over to where James was sitting shaking his head. As Evans opened her mouth to retort James got in there first.

"Joke, Lils, joke" he said calmly, trying to get into her good books.

"Who said anything about it being a joke? I'm being serious" I finished, a slight grin on my face at the use of the ending word. James picked up on this and unfortunately for him, smiled at the same time as Evans looked at him.

"You both think it's so funny to just go out with any old girl for the sake of it and then just dump them when you get bored. Well not anymore. Try anything Black and I'll hex you into next week" she said menacingly. Leaving it at that she turned her attention back to her own pincushion which rapidly changed into a hedgehog. Pleased with her work she sat back and watched the rest of the class. James looked at me, a curious expression on his face and I knew I'd be questionned about this later. Sighing and shrugging my shoulders I leant back in my chair, not bothering to work at all.

Soon enough the lesson was over and me and Prongs jumped up and headed out the classroom first to escape.

"What was Evans talking about back there?" Straight to the point as ever, James.

"I know as much as you do" I replied calmly, lying through my teeth. I knew exactly what she was talking about but something stopped me from telling James. He looked at me warily but was saved from saying anything else when Moony walked out accompanied by Turner with Fiona, Evans, Welder and Frank following behind.

"Erm, charms now" I heard her melodic voice say. Her eyes caught the sunlight, throwing the golden colour into sharper relief. I turned away from her and instead focused on Moony.

"Ready Moony? Where's Peter?" I asked, casting an eye round my other classmates pouring out of the classroom.

"Had to talk to McGonagall about something" came his reply as he came to a stop in front of us. I watched as Evans looked at me meaningfully and I just rolled my eyes at her. Pathetic. Did she really think she was scaring me?!

"Come on Ally, lets make a move" I heard her say and she pushed past us, grabbing Turner and Fiona as she went.

"We'll come with you, we have charms too" Prongs called out to her retreating back and he began to walk at a quick pace trying to catch up with her.

"He'll never learn" Remus sighed as he too began to walk. I fell into step next to him as we walked casually to charms, talking as we done so.

On our arrival in the charms classroom, it was a similar story to that of the beginning of Transfiguration. Names were on cards hovering over desks and I inwardly groaned. This was all a ploy to get the Marauders to stop disrupting lessons. Well we'd just have to show them. As I weaved through the crowds of students I thought of several different pranks we could pull and I made a mental note to inform the guys later. I was disappointed as I ended up moving closer and closer to the front, but stopped dead in my tracks as I caught the sight of my name, alongside the name of someone else. Turner. A grin began to form on my face as I thought of the fun I could have whilst winding up Evans.  
This was going to be an interesting year.

Ally's POV

As I was looking for my name I watched as Fiona and Alice ended up sitting next to each other. They both looked happy, as did Lily when she found out she would be sitting next to Remus. I got the feeling that Remus was the only one she didn't hate out of his group of friends. As I walked further on I was paying virtually no attention to what was infront and, as a result bumped into something hard. Unlike before when I bumped into Lily, I was losing my balance and I knew I was headed for the floor. Oh great, what a good start to the year. Show everyone what a clumsy idiot I am. As the floor got nearer and nearer my attention was diverted as I felt a pair of hands on either side of my waist pulling me upwards.

"Well that could have been embaressing. Second lesson in and on the floor" I heard a husky, yet cocky voice say from above me. Looking up my golden eyes met stormy grey ones and I soon realised just who it was that had saved me from humiliation.

"Yeah I guess so, erm, thanks" I replied in a small, shy voice, feeling extremely embaressed yet oddly comfortable as I realised Sirius Black still hadn't released his hands from my waist.

"My pleasure, are you okay now?" he questionned and I could hear the laughter in his voice. This made me feel uncomfortable and I suddenly realised that this was one memory I wouldn't be allowed to get away from.

"Yes I'm, I'm fine" I managed to stutter out, and I looked up in time to see a wide grin plastered on his face. _Oh great_ I thought as it was clear that he was mocking me. It was then that he slowly removed his hands from my waist and I quickly looked round to try and find my seat. As I took a quick glance round the room I found everybody still in confusion as they tried to find their seats. _Phew, no-one saw,_ I thought gladly to myself as a voice from above spoke to me again.

"Looks like you'll be sitting next to me this year" was the comment I heard while looking around, and I inwardly groaned as I looked up to see a cheeky grin form on the face of Black. _Please say everybody is still oblivious_ I prayed as I pulled out my chair and slumped down in it. How wrong I was.

Lilys POV

I watched with near horror as Ally was prevented from falling by Black. I had warned him against trying anything on in Transfiguration and he had played dumb. I knew all about Ally, about her life before she came here, about the Etoileige in her, and also about her age. I felt as if it was my duty to protect her, it was almost as if she was fast becoming my little sister. And I knew that it would be down to me to save her from the likes of the Marauders.

**Review away people **


	4. Ancient Runes, and Will Masters

**A/N: Here we go people!! I'm managing to write quite a bit, but I have a load of coursework and essays and UCAS stuff to do so I shall try to update as soon as poss, but no promises with time and things, so please bear with me! Well, here it is and I hope you all like it!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me.**

**Allys POV**  
The day moved swiftly on and after Charms me and Lily both had a free. The others all had Care of Magical Creatures so we trapeised back up to the common room to begin the homework that had been assigned by Professor McGonagall. As we worked a series of questions buzzed through my mind but I didn't want to interupt Lily form her work and so I kept quiet and tried to focus on my own work as well.

"I see you had the misfortune to be placed next to Black in Charms" she said suddenly, not looking up from her work. I wasn't quite sure where she was headed with this but I replied none-the-less.

"Oh, um, yes". My answer seemed unsure and I think it was due to this that she stopped writing and looked up.

"Did he bother you at all?" she asked, green eyes blazing.

"Oh, no, not at all" I answered truthfully. And it was the truth. After stopping me from falling and sitting down in my chair, Sirius hadn't spoken a word to me. Instead he had taken to scribbling things furiously down on parchment, which I suspected had little to do with the lesson. At my response Lily's eyes narrowed and she looked slightly hesistant before answering.

"Well, if he does bother you at all, which is very likely to happen I'll warn you now, feel free to tell me and I'll sort him out" she said menacingly. I got the distinct impression that she knew something I didn't and that it would be a bad idea to cross Lily Evans. I simply nodded my head and she returned to her work. Now that she had asked me questions I felt that maybe it might be alright if I asked my own questions.

"You and James don't really get on do you?" I asked, slightly cautiously. I watched as she sighed and then put her quill down.

"Not at all. He's the most arrogant, annoying, big headed, ego inflated person I know" she got out all in one breath.

"Oh" was my simple reply, I really didn't want to push matters. It seemed that the very subject made her angry. I think she realised that I had sounded a little cautious and she smiled slightly.

"We never have, and we most probably never will. He's been asking me out constantly for as long as I can remember. It just gets so annoying when you're walking down a corridor and you hear 'EVANS GO OUT WITH ME' day in, day out" she explained, and I was beginning to get the picture here. So this was most probably why she didn't like him.

"Remus is the only decent one. You haven't met Pettigrew yet but he's not much better. Worships the ground Potter walks on" she said, a hint of irritation in her tone.

"Ah, I see" was all I could think to say. Lily just smiled at me and continued with her work while I processed the information. Lily had referred to the boys (excluding Remus) by their surnames. Did that mean I had to as well? I decided that this was most definently a stupid question and I decided to wait to see if Fiona and Alice called them by their surnames. Although re-thinking this, I highly doubted that Fiona would, after I remembered that she had told me that James was her cousin. Thinking over things I soon realised that it would take me a while to get used to things at Hogwarts.

I managed to fully complete my transfiguration homework and I smiled broadly as I put my quill down. Lily was still working and I sat back and took a quick glance out of the window behind me. It was a lovely day and I could see crowds of students begin to make their way back up to the castle. Looking down at my watch I saw that it was now 1 o'clock.

"What time is lunch?" I asked Lily, having not been informed of this yesterday.

"Oh lunch is from 1 until 2" she replied, not looking up from her work. I watched as she hurridly scribbled down a few more answers before joyfully putting a full stop.

"There, finished, what time is it now?" she asked, getting up and stretching.

"It's just gone one" I informed her, getting up myself. I was amazed that I had managed to get my work done before lunch, I thought it would take me hours. Maybe things wouldn't be too bad.

"Let's head down to lunch then" Lily suggested, grabbing her school bags. She stopped short however and spun round.

"You have ancient runes after lunch don't you?" she asked me and I quickly gathered up my timetable to see.

"Yup, I sure do" I replied, looking forward to it. Ancient Runes was one of my favourite subject alongside charms.

"Oh good, same here, and, best of all, we'll manage to get away from the Marauders" Lily said as we walked out of the portrait and through the numerous corridors to get down to the Great Hall.

"The Marauders?" I asked quizzically, wondering who these people were, exactly.

"Oh I forgot to explain to you. Sorry. The Marauders are Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Remus" she said with disgust. "They think they're all that because they play pranks daily and get more detentions than most of the student population put together" she continued, ranting on.

"Oh right" was all I could say. I didn't want to be eating lunch with a mad Lily.

Soon enough we entered the Great Hall, and, like the two times before, I couldn't help but be impressed with it. I stopped to look round the Hall and my eyes drifted up towards the ceiling. I had read that it was an enchanted ceiling and that it reflected the weather outside.

_Two of a kind_ I thought, as I had a feeling that the colour of my eyes had changed to a chocolatey brown comfortable colour. I ambled along in the direction of the Gryffindor table where I could see the girls sitting. Hoping that it would be okay for me to sit with them, I began to move in their direction. As I neared them a voice called out to me.

"Ally!" I heard someone exclaim and I spun round, wondering who the hell was calling me. I had only been here five minutes and I was already being beckoned! Searching the tables I found the culprit, James Potter. He waved me over and I cautiously approached, all too aware of several pairs of eyes on me.

"Why don't you join us for lunch, it would be great to-" he began but he was soon cut off, by another call.

"ALLY" another voice all but yelled at me. Blimey, talk about getting attention. I looked down at the faces of the boys in front of me and saw Sirius Black raise one of his eyebrows in apparent amusement.

"Someones getting a lot of attention today" he remarked cockily, a grin plastered on his face. I blushed and turned to look in the direction the voice had come from. Further down the table I saw Lily get up and march in this direction. I heard a groan from Remus and he put his head in his hands, obviously expecting the worse.

"Come and sit with us Ally" Lily said, trying her best to put a friendly smile on her face as she did so. She glanced round at the boys the smile sliding off to be replaced by a cold one.

"James was only trying to be friendly Evans" Sirius retorted, his own voice taking on an icy edge.

"Sure he was" Lily replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. With that she grabbed the sleeve of my robe and tugged me in the direction of Fiona and Alice. I looked round and sent an apologetic smile to the boys as I stumbled slightly. James looked disappointed, Sirius looked a bit pissed and Remus looked totally unsuprised. The other boy, Peter I think his name was was just staring at James. I guessed this was only the beginning.

After the incident a while ago, the rest of lunch passed quickly. Lily remained slightly annoyed and chose not to talk too much, while Alice and Fiona questionned me about my first day. I had enjoyed it so far, and with only one lesson left, I was left feeling hopeful. Both Fiona and Alice had exchanged quizzical looks with each other over lunch and I was left wondering why. This in turn made both of their eyes widen even more and I immediately understood. My eyes before would have been a chocolatey brown and now they would be bluey green in colour. I guess I had a lot of explaining to do. Looking down at my watch I saw that it was now ten to two and I informed the others. Fiona and Alice still looked extremely confused and I sighed.

"I'll tell you later" I explained, at which point both Fiona and Alice raised their eyebrows. I wouldn't tell them the whole story, just that my eyes changed colours. Hopefully they wouldn't probe to much into it. I stood up and Lily seemed suprised by my sudden movement.

"Oh is it time to go already?" she asked, startled and beginning to get herself up.

"That's what Ally just said, have you not been listening?" Fiona asked slightly exhasperated as she heaved herself up from the table. Lily didn't answer straight away but instead muttered something under her breath which seemed to be along the lines of 'stupid Potter'. Alice and Fiona just grinned at me and I smiled back as we all moved out of the Great Hall, Lily speeding up considerly as we walked past 'the Marauders'. I chanced a quick glance at them to see that they were all looking up as we passed, James with slight sadness in his eyes.

_Wow, he must really like her_ I thought to myself as I faced the front making sure I wouldn't stumble...again. As we climbed the stairs I pulled out my mental map and focused on the number of stairs we climbed and the direction in which we were moving through the corridor, leaving Alice and Fiona on the second floor for their lesson. At last we stopped outside a classroom and I focused.

"So our classroom is towards the westerly end of the third corridor?" I asked Lily.

"Yeah we are!" she exclaimed seemingly impressed by the way I managed to work things out. She stared at me for a few more seconds before asking me a question.

"Do I look okay, do you think?" she asked. I was taken a back by this question. We were only going to a lesson, was there someone she needed to impress?

"Yeah you look great" I answered, unsure as to whether this was this correct answer. Now I knew I was definently missing out on something. Unlike my times of puzzlement before, it was pure confusion that laced my body now, not confusion with curiousty. I heard a small intake of breath as I looked at Lily who was looking at _me_ with looks of utter confusion. Ah. Confusion. Pink. This was the worst one. It was just such an unnatural colour, there was no way you could try and cover that one up. I opened my mouth to explain but was saved by the arrival of someone.

A tall, lean, muscular man with wavy black hair and amazingly green eyes was walking towards us. Lily blushed, a shy smile on her face. Now I understood the reasoning behind the questionning of looks.

"Good afternoon girls" the man greeted in an incredibly deep and utterly masculine voice.

"Good afternoon Professor" Lily greeted in return, sounding slightly breathless. The man merely smiled at her as his eyes found me.

"Ah you must be Miss Turner. Welcome to Ancient Runes. I'm Professor Ford and I will be teaching you" he explained, moving further towards me, hand extended. Uh-oh. Not a handshake. I couldn't possibly shake his hand. He would immediately think there was something seriously wrong with me.

You see another part of being an Etoileige is body temperature. A normal humans body temperature is approximately 37°C. Mine was roughly 39°C. A major difference when it came down to it. Anyways back to the point in hand, there I was silently panicing as Professor Ford walked closer and closer when it hit me. All of the teachers must have been informed about me when I started. So hopefully he would be slightly prepared... forget that. There was no way anyone could be prepared for it. They might know about it, but it was never enough to stop them from gasping out loud. There it was, the worry lining my stomach. I saw Professor Ford's own eyes glint with curiosity as he saw the change from pink to gold. Oh great. I stretched out my hand in order to shake it and on contact his smile got even bigger.

"Pleased to meet you sir" I greeted politely, shaking his hand. He merely looked extremely interested (which may I say enhanced his good looks) as he shook my hand and then let it go.

"Well then girls, come on in" he said as he brushed past me and entered the classroom, holding the door open for us.

"Thankyou sir" we said as we passed him, stepping inside the large and circular room. Lily took a seat near to the front (can't say I was too suprised by this one) and I sat next to her. She quickly got out her writing equipment before focusing her attention on Professor Ford as he pottered round the room.

"So this is why you were checking that you looked okay?" I whispered to Lily, smiling. She turned her head and an amazingly bright smile lit up her face.

"Got it in one. Professor Ford is one of the most sought after teachers here at Hogwarts. Every girl in the school fancies him" she filled me in quickly and as quietly as possible, making sure that Professor Ford could not over hear.

"Can't say I'm suprised" I replied, making sure that my voice was low as well. Lily just grinned at me before turning her attention back to Professor Ford. I just sat there slightly bemused by the whole thing. It wasn't long until more people entered the classroom and, as I looked around, a sudden cough brought my attention to the empty seat next to me.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" a deep, velvety voice asked. My eyes snapped up to see a gorgeous boy towering over me, a broad smile on his face.

"Yeah, sure" I replied, still gazing up at him. He smiled gratefully and quickly took his seat before introducing himself.

"I'm Will, Will Masters, Ravenclaw" he said in greeting, with a heart warming smile. "And you must be Ally Turner" he continued before I had a chance to introduce myself.

"Yeah, I...how did you know?" I asked, slightly puzzled and curious. Dam. Bluey green. He merely looked at me for a fraction of a second before shaking his head and smiling even more broadly. _He thinks its a trick of the light_ I thought to myself, smiling in relief.

"I feel pretty sure in saying that nearly everyone knows who you are" he told me, still maintaining the smile. Now I may not have been at Hogwarts long at all but I could tell that I was most probably talking to one of _the_ hottest boys here, alongside James, Sirius and Remus. "Especially after lunch" he added, chuckling slightly. Oh great. So everyone must have overheard that exchange. He looked at me bemused.

"Did I say that out loud?" I questionned hesitantly, a small smile beginning to tug at the corners of my mouth.

"Im afraid you did" he said, continuing to chuckle. I allowed the smile to take over my face and he continued to look at me. Feeling slightly embaressed I broke eye contact, which I suspect made him smile even more. Luckily for me Professor Ford chose this moment to begin class and I sat up straighter, ready to pay attention to the lesson.

It seemed as if the lesson whizzed by and before I knew it, I was packing up my stuff.

"So where are you headed now?" the velvety voice asked me. I looked to my left to see Will standing up, waiting by the edge of the desk.

"Erm, I have another free so I guess I'll start my homework" I said, whilst consulting my timetable. Today was a good day for me, not too packed at all.

"Me too, why don't you join me in the library?" he asked, a smile on his face. I spun round to look at Lily, to ask if she wanted to join us. She grinned extremely broadly at me as she replied.

"Me and Fiona have some stuff to do so you go ahead" she said, her voice injected with enthusiasm. She continued, now directing her eyes in the direction of Will.

"You'll have to walk Ally down to the Great Hall for dinner though, she hasn't quite got her bearings yet" she explained, flicking her hair as she done so. I looked at her slightly puzzled, Lily knew as well as I did that I was actually managing rather well. I opened my mouth to speak but she shook her head and winked at me. Feeling slightly confused I reached forward to grab my books off of the table, but was cut short.

"Here, let me" Will said, beating me to my books and scooping them up in his hand.

"After you m'lady" he grinned stepping back to allow me to walk first. I blushed but smiled in return as I began to make my way towards the door. As I was about to walk through, I looked back quickly to see Lily smiling, and then winked at me before I continued out into the corridor.

**Lily's POV**  
I had to tell the girls. But first I was going to go up to the common room and do my homework. Will Masters. Ally was a lucky girl. Alongside the 'Marauders' Will Masters was one the most chased boys in the school. Boys wanted to be him, girls wanted to be with him. My best friend Susan from Ravenclaw was absoloutly besotted with him, and it wasn't hard to see why. With gorgeous floppy brown hair covering amazingly blue eyes, and a muscular quidditch build he was extremely popular. I trundled up the stairs and as I entered the common room I sat down at my favourite table and pulled my homework out of my bag.

xXxXx

As soon as the clock hit six I flew out of the common room down the stairs towards the Great Hall. I wondered if Will and Ally would already be there, but I knew I would have to inform Alice, Fi Susan and Lizzy as soon as poss. I flew down the stairs and came to a halt at the Gryffindor table where Alice and Fi were already seated.

"Woah, slow down, dinners not going anywhere" Fi remarked grinning as she delved into the food in front of her. I completely ignored their present company; Potter was grinning up at me. Just as he opened his mouth to speak I cut across him.

"I have major stuff to tell you two! But first I need to grab Susan and Lizzy" I blurted out quickly, scanning the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables as I done so. Both Alice and Fi perked up noticabley by this point and Potter shut his mouth looking interested. I had also managed to capture the interest of Black and Remus but I chose to ignore them. Finally I spotted one of the girls I was looking for. With light brown hair reaching her shoulders and hazel eyes, Susan Stark was just entering the Hall.

"SUSAN!" I yelled, managing to get the attention of a large portion of the hall, but not the person I wanted. Honestly, I swear that girl is deaf sometimes.

"SUUUUSAAAAN" I yelled again, this time people began to moan at me for my loud voice. I ignored them though, glad to finally have got the attention of one of my best friends. She hurried over to where we were sitting and took a seat inbetween Fi and Alice. I continued my search but couldn't find Lizzy anywhere and so I turned to the girls in front of me.

"Hey girls, how are we all on this fiiine day?" she asked, a smile lighting up her eyes. I rolled my eyes, Susan was never one to getting straight to the point.

"Never mind that I have major stuff to tell you!" I said, cutting off Alice as she opened her mouth to respond. Now it was Susan's turn to roll her eyes as she started piling food onto her plate.

"Come on then, spill Lils" Susan remarked, knowing full well I didn't need the invitation to begin. I could feel, not only 3 sets of eyes on me but also another 3 sets of eyes on me. I chose to ignore the latter set.

"Well there me and Ally are sitting in class waiting for lesson to begin when-" I began.

"Hey, where _is _ Ally?" four voices asked at precisely the same time. Fi and James both burst out laughing while Sirius and Alice merely smiled. I should have known I would be interupted at some point by the stupid Marauders.

"Thats what I'm getting at" I said impatiently, banging my fork against my plate.

"Anyways so yeah. Where was I? Oh yeah I remember. So anyways there we are sitting in class-" I tried to say again but once again was cut off.

"..watching the gorgeous Professor Ford" Susan finished my sentence, her eyes now following said man around the hall. I heard three exhasperated sighs coming from the direction of the boys but again, I chose to ingore them.

"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH?!" I exclaimed loudly, causing all three girls in front of me to jump and turn their attention back to me.

"Sorry Lils" Susan replied sheepishly.

"Right so there me and Ally are in class when none other than WILL MASTERS comes over and asks if he can sit next to Ally" I manage to finish at last, pleased that my comment managed to earn three gasps of suprise.

"Are you serious?!" Fi managed to exclaim, looking positively excited.

"No that's me" Black replied, grinning, although it seemed a little half heartedly. I wonder why...No. Lily. Focus on the matter in hand. Stupid Black.

"Yeah I'm dead serious" I continue, chosing to ignore the stupid previous comment.

"No way, so, where is Ally now?" Susan asked, eyes wide.

"In the library...with Will Masters! He asked her to join him after class!" I exclaimed, positively excited for my friend.

"Oh what a great date, the library" Black drawled, interupting our conversation yet again.

"Shut it Black, it's more than you would ever do. What's your typical date? A broom cupboard? Its not even any of your business" I snapped, extremely irritated by his ridiculous comments. Fi, Alice and Susan all sighed but before Black could open his big stupid mouth to respond Fi interupted.

"So technically she should be coming down to dinner round about now?" she asked, looking directly at me, forcing me to look at her and not Black.

"Should be" I said, now beginning to scan the Hall and finally finding what I was looking for.

"Entrance of the Hall" I told me friends eagerly, watching as Will and Ally both walked in, smiles on both of their faces. I continued to watch as Ally looked round, scanning the Gryffindor table before her eyes rested on us, smiling. However her smile faltered as she continued to look and she now looked confused. She turned to Will, whom she said something to and he handed her, her books before giving her one last smile and walking off in the direction of the Ravenclaw table.

**Allys POV**  
I smiled at Lily,Alice and Fiona who were sitting close to the boys and another girl whom I didn't know but recognised from my Transfiguration class when she sat next to Fiona. However as I smiled at the boys I felt my smile falter as all three of them were looking extremely disgruntled and not at all happy with the arrival of me and Will.

"Thanks very much for carrying my books" I said to Will as he handed me my books.

"My pleasure, I'll see you round" he said, finishing off with a smile before making his way over to his own table. I slowly walked down the table towards my friends where I smiled nervously, beginning to worry if I had done something wrong.

"Erm, hi guys" I started slightly nervously, not sitting down just yet but hovering just where they were sitting. The boys had paid no attention to my arrival, instead they watched as Will took his seat with his friends at the Ravenclaw table.

"Come on sit down" Lily said enthustiastically, her green eyes sparkling as she moved up, away from Remus who she had been sitting next to, to make room for me. I cautiously sat down, which bought the boys attention back to me. They looked at me warily and I had no idea why.

"So how did it go?" Fiona asked me, looking extremely excited. I knew what she was trying to get at.

"It was fine, we just worked" I told them, honestly. If they were waiting for any sordid details they'd be disappointed.

"Nothing else happened?" James asked suddenly, his eyes and voice fierce. I jumped slightly by his tone of voice, confusion mingled with worry caused my eyes to look a strange colour of golden pink.

"No" I answered in a very quiet, and wary voice.

"Good" was his short reply as he turned back to his food. I turned to look at Lily and Alice both of whom looked extremely puzzled by this sudden outburst. Fiona however looked as if she understood what had just happened. And me? Well I was just plain confused.

"I'm so jealous" the Ravenclaw girl breathed dreamily, her eyes now on the figure of Will Masters. Lily looked at her friend and just smiled a small smile before turning to me.

"Ally this is Susan, Susan, Ally" Lily introduced.

"Nice to meet you Ally" Susan replied, turning her eyes away from Will and now looking directly at me, a broad smile on her face.

"You too" I replied politely, beginning to pile some food on my plate. I could still feel people watching me and so I looked up to find Fiona, Alice, Susan and Lily watching me with sly smiles. Not only this but James and Sirius were alternating between casting dark looks at Will and curious looks at me. It made me feel uncomfortable and so I picked up my knife and fork and began to eat, hoping they would stop paying attention to me. Thankfully conversation resumed, although it didn't seem to flow as well. Susan was asking Fiona, Alice and Lily about their day, while the boys seemed to be having their own very hushed discussion. I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard the girls begin to get up.

"Come on Ally, we're going to go for a walk, show you the grounds and stuff" Lily said, with enthusiasm in her voice. I smiled up at her as I dropped my knife and fork onto my plate noisily, standing up abruptly.

"Thanks, I'd like that" I said, glad to be moving away from the feeling of awkwardness. Just as I was about to grab my books off of the table next to me, a voice interupted.

"Seeing as you're going for a walk, you won't want to be carrying your books round with you. We're going up to the common room now, why don't we take them for you?" James proposed, a smile on his face which lit up his eyes. I had a feeling that Lily would have something to say about it and so I got in there quickly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting to be a burden.

"Course I'm sure" he answered happily, already beginning to gather up my books. I smiled gratefully at him.

"Thankyou" I said, my voice filled with gratefulness as I began to walk away with the rest of the girls, Lily huffing away. I looked back at the boys to see all of them still alternating between giving Will dark looks and watching our retreating figures.

Now what was all that about?

**A/N: There you go! Hope you all like it, review away!**


	5. Laughter

**A/N: Well heres chapter 5! Everythings been a bit hectic but I've managed to get this chapter up before I expected really! Thankyou again to those of you who read and review! Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Fionas POV**  
It was an interesting dinner. As we walked out of the Great Hall I saw Ally glance back at the boys. Following her line of sight I could see that the boys were giving Masters dirty looks and then kept switching to watch us walk. I managed to catch James' eye and he smiled at me, as he continued to gather up Allys books. I knew that if it was me Will Masters had taken an interest in (a girl can dream) James would have reacted the exact same way as he had with Ally. This was very interesting. He barely knew her at all. Yet there was something about her. And, casting a swift look over at Sirius, I got the impression it wasn't just us two who thought this.

**Allys POV**

After a short, but very cold walk we began to make our way up to the common room. I think I'm going to have to start wearing more clothes, this weather is so different from France. Much, much colder. As we climbed up higher and higher we suddenly reached a fork in the stairs.

"Right I'd best go back to the common room now, see if I can get any more information" Susan said looking specifically at Lily and then at me. I looked at Susan than at Lily, and then at Alice and Fiona. I had an inkling that I was missing something. But before I could say anything else, Susan had whipped round and was now running up the stairs.

"Bye Suze, see you tomorow at breakfast" Lily called after her friend, who just waved a hand behind her as she continued to run.

"Mad as a hatter that one" Fiona said with a sigh, although there was a small smile on her face.

"You can talk" Alice responded cheekily, succesfully dodging a playful nudge from Fiona and had already began to back away.

"Heeey come back here" Fiona moaned, now positively running after Alice who was giggling manically as she went. Lily sighed but smiled as the two of us walked onwards and upwards.

"Sometimes I worry about them two" she said, a slight giggle escaping from her. I smiled at her, thinking that today had not been too bad at all.

After another few minutes me and Lily were walking through the portrait, where we were greeted with the sound of very loud laughing.

"I was joking, joking" we could hear Alice managing to spit out through laughing. Walking further into the room we could see Alice laying on the floor, with Fiona tickling her continuously.

"Say that I'm the most fabbest normal person you've ever met!" Fiona exclaimed, not ceasing the ever ending tickles. Alice was laughing absoloutely hysterically by this point and wriggling around, trying to escape from Fiona.

"But then she'd be lying Fi" Lily commented slyly, bringing it to their attention that we had finally arrived. Fiona didn't look too impressed and bounded away from Alice (who was still laughing) in our direction.

"Lily Evans you're going to wish you never said that" Fiona said, a broad grin on her face as she advanced.

"Fi, don't even..." Lily started, backing away from Fiona, "Fiona Shorts!" Lily shrieked now and began to dodge away from Fiona. I just watched on, amused by the whole thing. It was quite funny, Alice was still on the floor, although she was now on her tummy, watching Lily try to escape from Fiona. They had caused quite a scene and quite a lot of people were now watching them.

"Ally" I heard someone call my name and I turned in the direction I thought it came from. Looking towards the fire I saw five figures sitting in the chairs directly in front of it. Peering more closely I could see that it was in fact the Marauders and another boy. Smiling I made my way over to them, thinking that it was most probably James who had called me. Coming closer I could see that they were spread out in armchairs and sofas, all smiling up at me as I got closer.

"Hey" I greeted them, standing by the armchair James was currently sitting in. Lily and Fiona were still running round the room like lunatics.

"I think they might be like that for some time, why don't you take a seat?" he asked me politely, a smile on his face. I turned to see Lily just about dodge Fiona, the latter of whom seemed absoloutly set on getting Lily. I turned back round to see James looking up at me expectantly and so I looked round for a spare seat. There was only one; next to Sirius. I squeezed my way over and sat myself on the edge of the sofa.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice could be heard getting closer. Looking over I saw Alice approaching, and I was much relieved that I wouldn't just be the only girl here.

"I'm sure Frank wouldn't object to that one at all" was the reply from Sirius who was now looking at the boy in question. I turned to see the other boy that I had noticed sitting with the Marauders, only for him to flush red at Sirius' words.

"Thanks very much" Alice replied gracefully, sitting herself on the other side of me. I had a feeling things would be a little awkward but before an uncomfortable silence broke out Alice spoke,

"I'm suprised by you, you know" she admitted, looking round at the Marauders.

"And why would that be, Welder?" James asked, looking very much intrigued by this revelation.

"It's been an extremely quiet first day back" was all she offered as a way of explanation. I looked slightly puzzled by this and looked at Alice but before she could say anything, an almighty crash could be heard.

"AH-HAH! GOT YOU AT LAST LILS!" I heard Fiona shriek. I turned to look in the direction of the bedlam and saw an armchair overturned with Lily laying in it, Fiona's socked foot on Lilys stomach.

"Owwwww...that hurt Fi, was there any need to overturn the armchair?" Lily asked, groaning slightly. I looked over at James to see he looked slightly panic-stricken, and was taking in Lily's slightly dishevelled appearance.

"Oh come on Prongs, give it a rest mate" I heard Sirius mutter from beside me, and saw that I was not the only one who had been looking at James. James grimaced and turned his attention back to the two girls.

"Yes, I felt that it was necessary" Fiona said, smirking down at the tumbled form of Lily.

"Right, now you can admit that I'm the most fabbest fabbity person you have ever had the priviledge to meet!" Fiona continued brightly, seemingly very happy with the result of things.

"Nevvvveeeerrr!" Lily shouted, bursting into fits of hysterical laughter, at which point Fiona swooped down and began tickling Lily mercilessly. I just sat there smiling, finding the whole situation rather amusing.

"Blimey, who knew Evans actually had a sense of humour" Sirius remarked, the amusement in his voice very easy to pick up on. I turned to see him looking at me, a playful grin on his face. I couldn't help but return it, which in turn seemed to make him grin even wider. Blushing, I found myself looking away, wondering exactly what had just happened. Evidently James hadn't picked up on it as he began to complain to the others about Lily. However I turned to see Alice looking curiously at me, a knowing smile on her face. I looked at her puzzled, only to see her expression freeze, and then in turn become confused.

"If you'll excuse us, me and Ally have some stuff to do" Alice said abruptly, interupting James' rant about Lily. He looked up at her, a confused look on his face.

"Hey, you got to spend all day with Ally, why can't we spend some time with her?" he asked, his eyes set, determined. I looked at him in slight shock. This was my first day at school, my first day of getting to know people, and here was someone who actually wanted to talk to me, spend time with me.

"Because I said so, come on Ally, lets go" she said, and with that she pulled me up from the sofa, and marched me over to where Lily and Fiona where. For the second time that day I found myself glancing back at the boys, sending them an apologetic smile. They all returned my smile, and Remus just shrugged his shoulders at something James had evidentally just said.

Finally I found myself being stopped as Alice perched herself on the floor and dragged me down next to her. Fiona was still tickling Lily who was still laughing hysterically.

"Come on guys, give it up, call a truce" Alice said sighing, although she had a smile on her face as she done so.

"Okay, okay, truce truce Fi, truce, you're the bestest okay? Truce" Lily managed to say, slightly breathless through laughing so much. Fiona seemed to ponder over this for a moment before a wide smile lit up her face,

"Truce it is" and with that she plonked herself down next to Lily who was still crumpled up in the over turned armchair.

"So whats up Alice?" she asked casually, helping Lily up into a better sitting position.

"Well I just felt some girl time was needed. Catch up on todays gossip and all, first day back is always bound to be full of it" she explained, looking around at all three of us. I smiled, glad that I was fast becoming accepted into their group.

"Yeah you're right, plus there's always plans to be made!" Fiona exclaimed excitedly, fidgeting quite a lot. Plans? Hmmm. I think I'm missing something here.

"Plans?" I questionned quietly, hoping I wasn't intruding at all.

"Oh yeah, plans" Fiona said, a smirk lighting up her face. I was about to ask for more information if possible when Lily interupted.

"Alice" she began in an oddly calm voice. We all turned to look at her, her green eyes blazing.

"Y-eeees" Alice replied with extreme caution. Fiona looked wary and I just sat there, watching the scene unfold.

"Did my eyes decieve me?" Lily asked, her voice even more quieter than it was before. It was...dangerous almost.

"Ermm, no?" Alice questionned, obviously knowing what was coming.

"Frank was over there, you know how things are" she gushed out quickly, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Oh, riiiight" Lily said, perking up considerly, coming closer into the circle. Fiona sighed an audiable sigh of relief as her and Alice exchanged a look. I was slightly confused but also curious and I had a feeling that my eyes had changed. Fiona chose this minute to look at me and she smiled.

"So, I think someone has some stuff to tell us" she said, grinning and looking directly at me. I smiled, a little worried and I think that was evident as her eyes shone with curiosity. I looked over to Lily who gave a small shake of her head. I sighed, thinking things through in my head, wondering exactly what I would tell them.

"My eyes, they change colour depending on my emotion" I explained slowly, watching as both Alice and Fiona gasped in comprehension. "No-ones too sure why" I concluded, really not wanting to go into the full detail about my heritage.

"Wow thats amazing" Fiona and Alice both exclaimed at once, whispering as they done so.

"I'm taking it no-one else knows?" Alice asked, casting an anxious glance around the room.

"No, and.." I began, shifting, feeling a little uncomfortable right now, "I'd rather you know, noone else found out just yet, if thats okay?" I asked hesitantly, looking at the two girls I was adressing.

"Of course it's fine. Its your secret to share after all" Fiona replied, Alice nodding along with her. They both cast a furitive look around the common room and I realised how suspicious we must look. I giggled slightly as the thought crossed my mind.

"What's so funny?" Lily asked, entering the conversation properly for the first time.

"We must look kinda suspicious, especially since we all keep looking round to make sure no-ones listening" I explained a smile on my face. All three girls began giggling, which somehow managed to escalate into us falling about in fits of laughter. After laughing for several minutes the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching us.

"What's so funny?" a deep masculine voice came from above, seemingly directly behind me. All of us abruptly stopped laughing and looked up from our positions on the ground to see the Marauders and Frank standing above us. Alice flushed deep red, as did Frank. Me and Fiona looked between the two of them, and that set Fiona off. I could see her shoulders shaking, as she tried to control herself. This in turn made me start to laugh and I could feel my own shoulders begin to shake. I chanced a glance at Fiona, which ended up being the completely wrong thing to do. As I looked up she looked at me, and this eye contact made us burst out laughing. We ended up laying down on the floor, rolling around. I opened my eyes in time to see Lily and Alice exchange a beweildered look as Lily looked up at the person who had spoken, which I think was Sirius.

"None of your business Black, why don't you just go away" she snapped, her eyes not lingering on his towering figure. Instead she turned her attention back to me and Fiona: we were just about managing to regain some control, although we were both still laying on the floor. I looked upwards to see James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Frank looking directly down at me and Fiona, bemused expressions on their face.

"Your books are on the table by the fireplace Ally" James explained, grinning down at me. I hiccoughed slightly as a result from my constant laughing and taking deep breaths.

"Thanks" I managed to get out, a smile on my face.

"Anytime, night girls, Lilyflower" he added on at the end as an afterthough. Lily merely huffed and rolled her eyes; she seemed determined not to make eye contact with him.

"Night all" was all I managed to hear from Remus, and looking up I could see Frank spluttering slightly, still ever so red. I looked at Alice who was smiling sweetly up at him and I changed eye direction back to Frank. He seemed to give up as he gave a small nod and disappeared. I thought James had disappeared completely when his voice could be heard.

"Oh Evans I forgot something" he said, as I turned my head in his direction. One foot was on the bottom step while he swiveled to face our direction.

"Will you go out with me?" James asked, an innocent smile on his face.

"Go to hell Potter" Lily spat venamously, and I could hear both Alice and Fiona sigh. James didn't look too disappointed and he just shrugged and went on his way, Remus and Frank behind him. I had completely forgotten that Sirius was behind me and jumped at the sudden sound of his voice.

"Night" was all he said, and I snapped my eyes up to the towering figure above me.

"Night" I replied slightly quietly, a small smile on my face. This smile was returned as he moved away, after the others. Peter said nothing and scampered quickly behind his retreating figure. Slowly I heaved myself up to see all three girls looking at me.

"What?" I questionned hesitantly, worried that I had done something wrong.

"What does gold symbolise?" was Alice's abrupt response. This wasn't what I had expected.

"Erm, worry" I replied, slowly realising that this must be my current eye colour. I blushed slightly at this revelation and ducked my head quickly, fidgeting with my hands.

"Oh right, anyways, plans and gossip" Alice continued, and I looked up to give her a small grateful smile for not lingering on the subject. She smiled back before turning her attention to the other two.

"Suprisingly no gossip, but lets make plans now" Fiona said, an eager look crossing her face. I was still slightly confused by what plans they meant, and if they involved me or what. Confusing stuff.

"Hmm, I say this Friday. Sound good?" Lily proposed, looking at the three of us. Both Fiona and Alice nodded enthustiastically but I was still confused. Bluey green. Yup Lily had picked up on it.

"Oh sorry Ally, you have no idea what we're talking about do you?!" she exclaimed apologetically. I shook my head, a shy smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Well usually we have frequent sleepovers, so we're just deciding on a date now. Normally it's us three, Susan and Lizzy, a hufflepuff. We thought it would be a fun idea to have sleepovers sometimes, seeing as how we're in different houses and all. And we'd love it if you came as well" she explained, looking very happy. I looked to see Fiona and Alice nodding along with her.

"Are you sure it would be okay?" I asked, a little shyly. I had never been involved with anything like this, so I didn't know if they really wanted me or what to expect or anything.

"Course we are, we'll have loads of fun!" Fiona exclaimed, her eyes bright with energy. I smiled gratefully at the three of them and this seemingly settled things.

"Great, we'll tell Suze and and Lizzy at breakfast tomorow, but I am absoloutly shattered so I'm going to head on up to bed" Lily said quickly, stretching and yawning for emphasise.

"I'll second that" Fiona sighed lazily, beginning to rub her eyes.

"Me third" Alice chimed in, a grin adhourning her face. She looked expectantly at me, and nudged me in the ribs playfullly.

"Me fourth" I said, smiling, making us all giggle slightly. We all started getting up, apart from Fiona who was still lolling about on the floor.

"Help would be great" she said, looking up at as expectantly. I began to make my way over, hand extended when Lily pulled me back. She gave me a knowing look which I was slightly confused over when it dawned on me. Body temperature. So much for trying to keep it a secret. All of this happened within a few seconds and so no-one had picked up on it. Instead, Lily kept a hold of my sleeve, grabbed Alice's sleeve and began pulling us towards the stairs.

"Sorry Fi, get up yourself, you lazy thing" she said, a grin forming on her face. Fiona sat up abruptly at this at which point Lily began laughing manically and ran up the stairs. Alice's eyes widened as she too began legging it up the stairs, and realising Fiona would be coming any second too, I joined in, taking the stairs at lightening speed. Unfortunately this wasn't a metaphor and I felt myself fly up the stairs, before I realised what had happened.

_Dam it, slow down Ally! STOP!_ I thought to myself and came to a grinding halt...in front of Lily. Her eyes widened as she realised that the Etoileige in me had taken over.

"Hey how'd you do that?" Alice asked, a very confused expression coming over her face as she stopped behind Lily.

"Didn't you see her overtake us?" Lily asked, trying to sound exhasperated, although the expression on her face told otherwise. She was covering for me and I was very grateful.

"Oh no, guess I was too concerned about Fiona chasing us!" Alice exclaimed, now checking behind her, apparently swallowing the lie. I mentally sighed in relief as I opened the door to the dormitory and sank onto my bed. Now that was a close one. I sunk back, feeling very cosy, that is, until a pair of socks whacked my head.

"Get changed into your pyjamas lazy bones" Lily chuckled from her bed as I heaved myself up to get changed quickly.

Laying in my bed, now in my pyjamas, I thought back over the day, thinking this was probably one of many good days I would have in Hogwarts. I couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

**I hope you all liked it!**


	6. Suprises And Water

**A/N: Chapter Six is here. Thanks too those who reviewed, it really encouraged me to get this next chapter up, so I hope you all like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter unfortunately.**

**Allys POV  
**As the sun began to rise, I was up at 7. Unlike yesterday I remembered where I was, and suprisingly was looking forward to my day at school. I jumped out of bed quickly only to be hit by a wave of cold air. I took in a sharp breath as I began to shiver.

"Cold this morning huh?" I heard Lily whisper from somewhere beside me. Peering out around the hangings I saw her bent over her bed, as if in the act of making it.

"Just a bit!" I replied, trying to keep my voice as quiet as possible, guessing that both Fiona and Alice were still asleep. I hurried into the bathroom, grabbing my school uniform on the way, in the hope of getting warm quickly. Not long after being in there I heard a light tapping on the door.

"Ally, I'll wait downstairs for you" Lily whispered, through the door.

"Okay, I'll be as quick as possible" I replied, letting her know I had heard.

"It's fine, take as long as you need" she responded in turn, and I could hear the slight smile in her voice as I could hear the faint footsteps retreating, and then the quiet shutting of the door. I turned my attention back to getting dressed, quietly hoping for warmth quickly. After successfully dressing, I now turned my attention to my hair. Thankfully it didn't look too wild and so I decided to just put it up into a simple ponytail, leaving my side fringe out, as I had yesterday. Now for the scar check. Turning my head left and right, I saw that it was not noticable, and sighed in relief. But I knew within me it was only a matter of time until someone noticed it. I just hoped it wasn't going to be anytime soon. Moving out of the bathroom I tiptoed round the room, collecting my bag. I collected the books I needed for today consulting my timetable, when I realised that I had left my books from yesterdays lessons downstairs. Leaving my bag where it was, I quietly walked across the room and decended the stairs where Lily and Remus were both talking. It seemed to be slightly strained, as when I entered, both turned to look at me and stopped talking abruptly.

"Erm, I'm just getting my books" I said quietly, gesturing to the pile on the table as I moved towards them. I felt the distinct need to explain myself, like I was interupting a very tense conversation. Remus simply smiled at me, and Lily tried to, but it came out more as a grimace. They watched me as I picked the books up and I hurridly made my way back up the stairs, where I could then hear them continue their hushed conversation. Trying not to think about it I tiptoed into the dormitory to gather up my cloak, bag and rest of my books. I tried to leave it as long as possible, hoping that I wouldn't go down to interupt their conversation for a second time. After milling about for as long as I thought I could get away with, I silently crossed the room, shutting the door quietly behind me. I tried to make my steps as loud as I dared to as I walked down the spiraling staircase, drawing ever closer to the bottom. As I approached I took a deep breath and turned the last corner, trying to plast a smile on my face. I could feel the worry build up in me, had I done something wrong? Was that why they had stopped talking as soon as I had come down? I guessed there was no way I'd ever know and so I tried to push these thoughts out of my mind as I lifted my head to look around the room. There was only one person present; Remus. I saw him sitting in an armchair by the fire, a school book out on his lap. He looked up as he heard my footsteps drawing ever closer, and slowly shut his book as he smiled up at me.

"Morning" he said happily, as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Good morning" I replied slightly warily, shifting uneasily on my feet as I cast an eye round the room, trying to find Lily.

"Lily went off to the owlery to post a letter" I heard Remus explain, answering my unvoiced questions. I turned to look at him to fnd him standing right next to me.

"Oh, right" was the only thing I could think to say, wondering if maybe I should wait for Fiona and Alice before going down to breakfast.

"Shall we go down to breakfast then?" he asked politely, a small but cheeky smile on his face.

"Um yeah sure" I replied, trying to sound enthustiastic about it, but still feeling slightly worried about the exchange I had witnessed. He gestured for me to go first and so I led the way out of the common room and into the deserted hallway. Glancing swiftly down at my watch I saw that it was now 7.30am. Not that, that seemed to make any difference or stand out at all. I stopped, to wait for Remus to make his way out.

"Looking forward to your second full day then?" he asked me politely as we walked along the corridor, headed to the many stairs that seemed to occupy the school.

"Yes I really am actually. It'll be good to see how my other lessons are going to be" I replied happily, glad that we were talking about something that made me feel comfortable.

We carried on talking about school until we reached the Great Hall, when I was suprised that our conversation had carried us this far. Upon entering, I cast a quick glance round, seeing just how many people were up at this time, noticing Professor Ford sitting at the top table, smiling at me as my eyes found his. I smiled back, slightly hesistantly admittedly, and continued walking further down the Gryffindor table, Remus by my side.

"I see you've discovered Professor Ford" Remus chuckled slightly, sitting himself down, half way down the table. Following his lead I sat next to him, turning to see a grin on his face.

"One of the many perks up Ancient Runes I'm guessing?" I queried, returning the grin, beginning to pull a bowl of cereal towards me.

"Well, it most certainly seems so" he replied, now gesturing round the Great Hall where several of the girls present where now eyeing up Professor Ford. I turned my attention back to Remus, laughing slightly in reponse to his previous comment. He began to pile some eggs and bacon on his plate and, between mouth fulls he began to talk.

"So what lessons have you got today then?" At this I dived into my bag to consult my timetable, eyes scanning quickly over it once it was out.

"Potions, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts" I whittled off quickly. After this I shoved it back into my bag, to resume my eating of breakfast. Remus looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"Same as me then", he responded, grinning. Momentarily confused I frowned, and, looking up I saw my own emotion reflected in his face. _Eye colour change_. I inwardly groaned. Fantastic. Lowering my head, I shook it before looking up again, worried about his reaction. He faltered for a minute, before resuming the eating of his breakfast. I sighed quietly in relief, glad to have apparently gotten away with it.

As breakfast wore on, more and more people filled up the Hall. I kept looking round to see if I could find Lily, Fiona or Alice but couldn't find one of them. Saying that I didn't mind sitting with Remus. He was good company and I found myself slowly relaxing. We had been talking the whole way through breakfast and it was nice to just talk to someone about, well, normal average kind of things. Not having had any friends at Beauxbatons, I was still getting used to people apparently wanting to talk to me. We were mid-way through a conversation about Quidditch when we were interupted.

"Morning Moony, Ally" I heard a voice say. Looking up I saw a smiling James taking a seat opposite us. Strangely enough he didn't seem suprised to see me.

"Morning Prongs, wheres Pad?" Remus replied, watching as James piled his plate full of the nearest foods. _Pad?!_ I mentally questionned, sending a puzzled look in Remus' direction. He, however didn't seem to notice as he was now watching Sirius approach.

"I'm right here, worried were you?" he questionned cockily, a grin on his face as he dropped in his seat next to James and mimicked his action of piling up his plate. I watched as he then began to eat at such a rapid speed, eyes widened in suprise. He looked up met my eyes and I could see the shock flitter across his face. He continued to look at me in this way, which then began to start making me feel embaressed as I dropped my gaze to my own, now empty plate. It didn't take me long to remember that Sirius didn't know about my continuously changing eye colour and I cast my mind back to what I was feeling before he looked at me. Suprise. Electric blue. No wonder he was in shock. He had only seen my eyes in a golden colour, and the change from that to electric blue is, I must admit, a dramatic one.

"Your eyes..." Sirius's voice brought me back to the present. I cautiously lifted my head to see him still looking at me, a small frown on his face. Both Remus and James were alternating between looking at me and then Sirius.

"What are you on Pad?" James asked in a critical voice, looking at Sirius with a slightly confused look on his face. Ignoring him, Sirius continued to look at me, his eyes swirling with questions.

"They change, depending on my emotion" I admitted in a small voice, dropping my gaze to my plate and cuttlery. Instantly I felt like a freak and stood up abruptly.

"I gotta go, see you later" I said quickly, picking up my bag and nearly running out of the Great Hall, not stopping to look back. I was so nearly at the doors when I banged into someone. I stumbled back a few paces, luckily managing to withhold my balance.

"Sorry" I mumbled, not looking up at the person I had bumped into, wanting to escape from the embaressing situation I had just put myself into.

"Ally?" a gravelly voice questionned. I recognised this voice. Surely,it couldn't be...? I jerked my head up quickly to look at the boy I had obviously bumped into. My eyes widened in disbelief and shock, and a wide smile stretched across his face.

"Luke!" I exclaimed, instantly hugging him.

**Sirius' POV**

I felt a short period of suprise before I was left feeling confused. Turner's confession followed by her abrupt departure left me watching her quickly retreating figure in utter confusion. Her eyes changed colour depending on emotion. Well that would certainly explain the change of her eyes over the past two days. However what really got me was the way she just left. I felt like I should have got up to go after her, and I was in the process of following her, mouth open to call her name when she bumped into Luke De Piesto. I wondered how he would react to her, seeing as she was new, and had already gained the high attention of Masters. I was therefore completely suprised when she enveloped him in a hug and he responded, hugging her back. I stood, frozen to the spot, when I suddenly thought how much of a fool I must look. Turning back I walked back to where we were sitting to recieve quizzical looks from both James and Remus.

"Why did she just go? Why did you go after her? And HOW does she know De Piesto?" James fired these questions at both me and Remus. I shrugged,

"I really don't know" I sighed, not really feeling hungry any more.

"I think she felt, well, misplaced" Remus tried to explain. I perked up, ready to listen to what he had to say about this. Ever the clever one, you could always rely on Moony to come to some sort of logical explanation. I nodded, encouraging him on.

"How many people do you know change their eye colour frequently?" he asked, thinking through his question before he looked up to James and then me. Prongs half shrugged by way of an answer.

"None" was my own short reply, now beginning to see where he was going with this.

"Exactly my point" was all he said, before leaning back and crossing his arms, whilst looking over in the direction of Turner and De Piesto. I frowned slightly, hoping I hadn't made the situation any more awkward for her, or had made her feel uncomfortable. I too, turned my attention to the entrance of the Great Hall where two particular people were gaining a lot of attention. I wondered what was going on, and figured that I'd find out by the end of the day, news spread like wild fire round this school.

**Ally's POV**

I was still in shock as I walked along the corridor...with Luke. After hearing his voice I couldn't believe it was him. Why had no one told me about this?! Luke was practically my older brother. Our families were close friends and we had grown up together. I knew he was a wizard but never knew he came here, to Hogwarts. So, after bumping into him I felt, well relieved. Here I was thinking I would be starting school knowing nobody and then Luke shows up. I couldn't help but smile now, and I suspected my eyes were of a brown going on green colour. I was slightly embaressed at first, just hugging him like that, especially when he was round his friends but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. His friends all seemed nice enough as well, although I had been pretty quiet when he was introducing us. It was a rushed event, as I had to go to my lesson...but had no idea where it was. Luke had volunteered (obviously) and here we were, approaching the Potions classroom. I got the impression that this was where the dungeons were and I shivered slightly as my body recognised the change in temperature.

"You okay Al?" Luke asked me, noticing the shiver, concern lighting his eyes.

"Yeah, it's just the temperature, you know" I answered, shrugging at towards the end. He smiled, understanding, and as we turned the next corner I saw people gathered. I could easily see in the bad lighting of the torches and could pick out the figures of Lily, Alice, Fiona and Susan.

"Thanks for walking me down" I turned on the spot, to face him.

"Thats my pleasure, you ever need me, any time, come and find me okay?" he questionned, looking towards my class, who were now sending looks over to where we were standing.

"Sure, you know I will" I replied smiling, feeling much better about everything now.

"Good, I'll keep an eye on you" Luke said, beginning to grin. I rolled my eyes, knowing what he was like. I gave him a brief hug before turning in the direction of my classroom, ready to be questionned.

**Lilys POV**

I saw how things were now. This morning Remus catches me in the common room and asks to lay off Potter for today, seeing as he apparently just wants to get to know Ally. I told him that there was no way on earth would I do that for Potter, but he somehow managed to make me agree, and, seeing as I'd rather chuck myself off the astronomy tower than be civil to the arrogant big headed jerk, I decided to go for a morning walk, skipping breakfast. I thought if Ally was at least with Remus, she would be okay, but here she is, making her own way over to where we were standing, the Marauders having arrived several minutes before and were now standing in a corner. Ally started walking towards us, and I walked forward quickly to greet her, before anyone else could.

"Morning" I said brightly, wanting to ask her the major question that was now on my mind.

"Morning" she replied, equally as brightly, although looking a little wary.

"So how do you know the gorgeous Luke De Piesto?!" I exclaimed, no longer trying to hide that this was the major question I wanted answering. At hearing this question Fiona, Alice, Susan and Lizzy all came up behind me, eager looks on their faces. I could see Ally look round at all five of us, a small smile beginning to spread on her face, lighting her eyes up.

"Family friend, I kinda grew up with him" she replied with a shrug, as if this was a casual occurance. My eyes widened, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the girls' eyes had widened as well.

"He's like the hottest boy in school!" Susan exclaimed, seemingly very, very happy about the revalation.

"I'd have to say I object to that statement" a voice interupted us. Moment gone. I turned to see Black, Potter, Pettigrew and Remus behind us. I narrowed my eyes taking the four of them in, really not happy by their interuption in the middle of a very important conversation. Judging by the cocky grin on Black's face I suspected it was him that had issued his objections.

"You would say that though, wouldn't you Sirius" Fiona commented grinning. I rolled my eyes. How I ever became best friends with the girl who actually likes the Maruaders, I do not know.

"It's good to know you don't disagree" he replied, almost flirtatiously, which earned him a nudge in the ribs from Fi. I turned my attention back to Ally, who remained standing there, looking extremely awkward. She was fidgeting with her hands, looking anywhere but in our direction. I frowned slightly, but was saved the trouble of asking by the appearance of Professor Slughorn. He beamed at me as he beckoned us into the classroom and I hurridly entered, pulling Ally with me.

**Allys POV**

I was instantly reminded of my abrupt departure from the Great Hall not too long ago, and so had remained silent throughout the exchange. I was therefore glad, when I felt a tug at my sleeve, and then being pulled into the classroom, moving past our Professor.

"Ah, and you must be Miss Turner?" Professor Slughorn enquired, smiling broadly at me, as Lily tried to drag me further into the classroom.

"Yes I am, pleased to meet you Professor" I replied politely, smiling back up at him. He was an extremely, well, broad man who somehow reminded me of a walrus. This thought made me smile even wider, and he must have taken this as an encouraging sign.

"Well, I hope you settle in quickly Miss Turner, and I hope your potion making is up to scratch" he said, grinning and then winking at me. I smiled back politely in return and allowed Lily to have her way as she pulled me over to a spare desk, relatively near to the front. Alice and Fiona sat behind us, and Susan and a Hufflepuff girl took a seat to our right. Lily turned to smile at them all before turning back to me.

"Ally, this is Lizzy, Lizzy, Ally" she stated, leaning back slightly to introduce the Hufflepuff girl Susan had taken a seat next to. She had browny greeny eyes with dark brown hair, which fell to her shoulders.

"It's great to meet you" she said, smiling widely at me.

"You too" I replied happily, returning her smile. It was nice to meet more people, and I was beginning to settle in well. I watched as the class filtered in, my eyes unknowingly following the Marauders to the back of the classroom where they settled. It seemed they were up to something, whispering and casting looks round the classroom. On thinking this, Sirius looked up, in my direction, almost like he had heard my thought. He looked at me for a few seconds, as if he was saying something to himself, before winking at me. Naturally I blushed at this, and I spun round to look at the front again.

"Who's got you all flushed then eh?!" Fiona asked from behind. She must have seen my face, and I'm guessing she also saw the person behind it. At this Lily turned to look at me, which made me blush even more, never one for being shoved into the spotlight.

"Uh no-one" was my quiet answer, hoping that they would leave it, although I'm sure they had other plans. Thankfully, I was saved by a very loud bang, and a boy entered the classroom. This would have seemed normal, had he not been entirely pink. His hair was pink, his face was pink, his robes were pink, his hands, shoes, basically everything. He was positively seething, and Professor Slughorn took in the boys appearance before chuckling ever so quietly.

"My, my, Mr Snape, what _has _happened to you?" he asked, a smile lighting his features. The boy just glared round the classroom, his eyes seemingly softening when he looked at Lily. However, it had seemed that he had found his target. Marching straight past us he reached the very back of the room, where the Marauders were sitting.

"You" he said in a dangerously low voice. I was a little puzzled by this stage, and continued to watch in slight amusement.

"Dear, dear _Snivellus_, look at the sight of you, don't you look...pretty in pink" Sirius said, grinning cockily at the boy. This seemed to further anger the boy and he whipped his wand out in a matter of seconds, brandishing it at the four boys, which then provoked James into copying his action, standing up, wand in hand.

"Mr Snape, Mr Potter put your wands away this instant. This is potions, NOT Defense Against the Dark Arts" Professor Slughorn interupted, his voice booming from the front desk where he seemed unwilling to move.

"Mr Snape, Mr Potter and Mr Black up here now" he continued, and the three boys moved unwillingly to the front of the class. From this point on, the Professor talked in a low voice and I could only pick up little bits of conversation, not too much. The rest of the class broke out into chatter, and I turned to Lily. To say she looked unhappy was a bit of an understatement. She sat there, eyes blazing, muttering to herself. I decided now was not the time to say anything, so I turned in my seat, looking towards the back where Remus sat, a small smile on his face.

_'What was that about?'_ I mouthed, suprised by my own forthright actions.

_'Later'_ was his instant reply, and I frowned slightly before turning back to face the front. The pink boy had been restored to his normal colour, and James and Sirius were making their way to the back of the class once again, grinning as they went. Lily growled as they went past, which seemed to only widen Sirius's smile.

"Thought you might like that one Evans" he commented as he sauntered past. James tried smiling in a very guilty way but Lily just turned away from him. Looking a little dejected, he followed Sirius back to his seat.

"Right, now I think we should begin the lesson, you will all be assigned partners this year"

Potions wasn't bad at all. Partners were assigned alphabetically and I had luckily, been paired up with Fiona. We chatted away as we worked, and I found that Fiona was really easy to talk to. She told me all about how she had to find balance, being best friends with Lily and cousins with James. She went on to tell me how she spent a lot of the time at the Potter's, and that Sirius also lived there. James and Sirius were almost like her brothers and I found myself relating to the situation, with Max, Sienna and Luke. In no time at all, Professor Slughorn was coming round inspecting our potions, telling us that mine and Fiona's was of a high standard. Glad of this praise early on in the year, we packed away our stuff and waited outside for the others to join us. Once all the girls came out we set off for Herbology, having to go out into the grounds for this. It was a lovely day out, and I found myself enjoying the company of those I was walking with. They talked excitedly about the plans for Friday, and the all included me effortlessly. With my spirits high, we entered GreenHouse four, ready for our lesson to begin.

"Ahhh, Miss Turner I presume?" a voice came from behind me. Spinning round I saw Professor Sprout, beaming at me, gardening gloves on, and dirt splattered across her face.

"Yes, pleased to meet you Professor" I replied politely. Professor Sprout positively beamed at me, as she nodded and then tottered away to what I assumed was the front of the greenhouse. By this point, the rest of the class had arrived, and people looked almost ready to begin.

**James' POV**

On entering the GreenHouse Professor Sprout immediately launched into her speech, talking about the things we would cover this year. I tuned off in the first few seconds and cast my eye around, looking to see where everyone was sat. Okay, so I admit it. I was looking for a certain someone. With amazingly red hair Lily wasn't exactly hard to find. Sitting as close to the front as she could, can't say I was suprised by that one. Sitting on her left was Fiona, Lizzy Mews sitting on her other side, with Susan Stark beside her. On Lily's other side was Alice, Ally sitting on her other side. After her revelation at breakfast, Ally had departed at top speed and I hadn't had the chance to talk to her yet. It would be difficult with Lily around, but I'm sure Fiona would help me. Come to think of it, Fiona might help me get Lily...I allowed my mind to wander slightly when I was bought back to the here and now when Sirius groaned beside me.

"Whats up?" I whispered to him, seeing him shake his head.

"Man, I thought I was bad at listening" he replied, chuckling slightly. I rolled my eyes at him, hoping he would continue.

"Sprout's given us a project to do, with partners" he explained sighing.

"And before you ask, she's chosing them" he finished off, knowing the exact thought running through my mind just then. I inwardly groaned but then stopped short. This might be my chance with Lily. I listened hard for the sound of my name, and her name, and was therefore disappointed when I heard it.

"Miss Evans and Mr Longbottom, Miss Shorts and Mr Black, Miss Turner and Mr Potter". Ahh there was my name. I had Ally as a partner. Well, things weren't all bad now were they.

**Allys POV**

I listened out for my name, finally hearing it. I soon discovered I would be working with James, and turned in my seat to find him. On doing so I smiled at him and he returned it eagerly. Well, this couldn't be too bad could it. After all the names were read out we were told to move I turned to see James making no effort to move, as was the same story with Sirius. It seemed Remus was the only one decent enough to move and come up front to sit next to Lizzy. Gathering up my bag, me and Fiona both made our way to the back, where the two boys were sitting next to each other. They smiled as we finally arrived, and I took a seat next to James.

"All ready for this project then partner?!" James exclaimed. Next to him Sirius laughed.

"Prongs, stop making out that you knew about this" he said between laughs. Looking directly at me now, he continued.

"He completely zoned out, probably thinking about a certain someone" he said, now looking at Lily who was laughing at something Frank had said. James punched Sirius on the arm, which Sirius then returned.

"Now, now ladies, handbags away" Fiona entered into the conversation, grinning broadly. They both stopped to look at her, identical smiles growing on their faces.

"You know, you really can't scare me with that anymore" she said, amusement lining her voice. Both boys sighed and Sirius ruffled her hair.

"Hey what was that for?!" she exclaimed, immediately smoothing out her hair.

"It's an action of affection" Sirius explained grinning, at which he got a punch on the arm by Fiona. I sat there, smiling, amused by the whole situation. They all seemed to get on like a house on fire, and acted like they were all best friends. It was nice to see that the Marauders weren't all bad as Lily had pictured them to be.

The lesson continued and we were all given a plant that we had to take care of and water and feed in the hope that it should grow successfully over the next few weeks. I found it easy to relax around James, Fiona and Sirius, and I enjoyed their company. It was mainly friendly banter between the three of them, but they made every effort to include me in their conversations.

"So what was all that about back in Potions?" I asked towards the end of the lesson. Looking up I saw James and Sirius wearing identical grins and Fiona rolling her eyes, although her mouth was twitching at an obvious effort to hide a smile.

"Ah, Snivellus, you see, is a slimy Slytherin and well, he's always up for an oppertunity to be made a fool of" Sirius explained, his grin widening. I was still a little puzzled, but shrugged it off, making a mental note to maybe ask Fiona later. It didn't seem that I would be getting much sense out of the two boys.

"Ally about breakfast" James turned to me and said quietly. Sirius and Fiona were now trying to throw water over each other, and making quite a mess out of it which meant that no-one was able to listen into our conversation. I immediately felt embaressed by this conversation topic and I wished that it would be over quickly.

"I just want you to know that all of us, me Sirius and Remus don't want you to feel misplaced or anything" he carried on muttering quietly. I couldn't help but smile at his choice of words and I looked up at this point. It seemed that my smile encouraged him and he beamed back.

"Glad that's all sorted then" he exclaimed happily and was then, at that very moment in time hit on the back of the head with a rather large jet of water. His face dropped and he turned round, very, very slowly to face the culprits. Fiona and Sirius were wearing matching innocent smiles, wands hidden behind their backs.

"Tell me you didn't" he said slowly, eyeing them up.

"I'm afraid we did, what you guna do about it Jamesie?" Sirius replied, a very mischievous smile on his face. I sat there, a wide smile on my face, although by the way Fiona was looking at me I was beginning to get a little worried.

"THIS!" he almost yelled, grabbing the watering can and chucking it over Sirius and Fiona. To say they were shocked was an understatement. They both stood there while James roared with laughter and I sat there, laughing as well. Professor Sprout seemed completely oblivious to this action, as did the rest of the class. After getting over the initial shock of the cold water Sirius turned to his own desk and grabbed the watering can chucking it over James's head. Now it was Sirius and Fiona's turn to laugh manically as James brandished his wand,

"Aguamenti" he said, slightly quietly, and a jet of water rushed from the wand tip, straight in the faces of Fiona and Sirius. I sat there, trying to steer clear of any water being thrown about, but was unlucky. Just as I thought I would be safe, Fiona 'accidently' wet my jumper.

"Oops" she said innocently, although there was a glint in her eye that told otherwise. Mind rushing away with itself, I instantly thought _Aguamenti_ and subtly pointed my wand in her direction. Success. I managed to get Fiona's jumper, although it was extremely wet anyway. She turned to look at me and it was now my turn to place an innocent smile on my face.

"Oh, this is war!" she exclaimed, and immediately began to advance on me. Rolling up my sleeves, I prepared myself for the water fight, completely forgetting that we were in lesson.

"Sirius, I think Ally's looking raaaaaaaather dry" she called out as she got closer. _Fantastic, I'm going to get drenched_ I thought to myself, as I saw Sirius wheel around to look in my direction. Luckily for me this also meant that James turned to look at me, and a knowing look came into his eyes. Winking at me, he began walking towards me, with Sirius and Fiona. I started backing away, getting ready to fire the spell at them in any given time. As Fiona lifted her wand and opened her mouth a loud cry of

"AGUAMENTI!" came from two voices. I felt a rush of cold water come over me and I was left absoloutly drenched.

"MR POTTER, MR BLACK, WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?!" I heard Professor Sprout screech. Trying to brush some water out of my face, I saw Fiona hurridly come to stand next to me. I could see Professor Sprout marching up to the four of us as both Sirius and James turned to face her, both soaking wet.

"HAVING A WATER FIGHT, AND THEN POUNCING ON MISS TURNER AND MISS SHORTS LIKE THAT" she continued, going very red in the face. At the last bit of the sentence, the smiles on both James and Sirius disappeared as they looked shocked.

"Are you okay my dears?" she came over to me and Fiona, looking worried.

"Just a little cold from having water thrown all over us" Fiona replied politely, beginning to emphasise this by shivering. I was already shivering by this point, the water had managed to reduce my bodily temperature and I was beginning to feel the effects of that. Professor Sprout smiled sympathetically at the two of us and waved her wand in our direction. A warming wind blew from it and in the next few seconds I was back to my dry self.

"Now dears, why don't you go off to lunch while I deal with Mr's Potter and Black" she finished, a sincere smile on her face. I was slightly shocked to say the least, both me and Fiona had been involved and yet managed to get away with it. Looking around I was suprised to find that we were the only ones left in the GreenHouse, everyone else had apparently been dismissed.

"Thankyou very much Professor" Fiona smiled innocently at her, before grabbing me and marching off, grabbing both our bags on the way out.

Once outside, she continued dragging me in silence until we were well away from the GreenHouses. Then she burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahahaha, did you _see_ their faces?! They are so going to kill us" she continued laughing hysterically as we slowly made our way back up to the castle. I couldn't help but join in her laughter as the castle doors slowly came into sight.

"Let's sit out here and wait for them to come up, I can't wait to see their faces" she said, sitting herself down, patting the grass next to her. I sat myself down, glad of the sun that was basking the grounds in light.

"You know, I wasn't sure how you would react when I managed to get you" Fiona admitted suddenly, turning in my direction. I smiled at her, shrugging.

"Neither did I, now we both know I guess" I replied, my smile becoming broader.

"I'm glad you did, it's nice to have someone who doesn't moan about the Marauders all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love Lily to bits, but it's always nice having other people around. Sirius and James aren't all bad at all, we always have a laugh together" she explained to me, and I nodded along, understanding what she was telling me.

"I see what you mean, it was good fun today...even if it was at the end of a lesson" I added on at the end, a grin on my face. Fiona returned this and we continued to chat about random things as we waited for the boys.

We didn't have to wait too long at all until we saw two figures ambling up to the castle. Fiona and me stopped talking to watch as they approached, not too down at all, seemingly.

"Oh look who it is, the 'innocent by standers'" James greeted, flopping down on the grass oppsite from where we were sitting. Sirius sat himself down as well, a small smile on his face.

"What did you get then?" Fiona asked the two of them, a grin on her face.

"Ah, just a detention tonight at 8" Sirius replied, shrugging it off. I couldn't say I was too suprised by this.

"And what about you two?! '_Just a little cold from having water thrown over us'_" James said, trying to mimick Fiona's voice.

"Alls fair in love and war" Fiona quoted back to him, a huge grin on her face.

"Well, just a heads up, you two will be payed back for it" Sirius replied lazily, looking over the both of us. Fiona just smiled sweetly back at him.

"You go for it _Siripoo_" she replied, which made her laugh, and in turn cracked me up. At the sight of both of us laughing, James began laughing, and then Sirius joined in, and the four of us just sat there laughing for a while. It didn't last too long however and James was the first one to begin speaking again.

"Oh man, my stomach, I'm staaarving, come on, foooooooood awaits us" he said, and began tugging at our sleeves.

"Lunch, how could we have forgotten! I'm sorry stomach" Fiona added to the conversation, patting her stomach before heaving herself up.

"Come on Ally, Sirius. Fooood. Chop chop" she continued, now tugging my sleeve.

"Jeez, and I thought I was a slave to my stomach" Sirius replied grinning, now standing on his feet. Turning to face me, he extended a hand, smiling down at me. Taking it lightly, he pulled me up, apparently unaware of the heat being emitted from my hand.

"Thanks" I replied, blushing slightly as he never broke eye contact.

"My pleasure" he in turn replied, grinning widely. I bent down to retrieve my bag when a hand beat me to it.

"Allow me" Sirius told me, swinging my satchel onto his shoulder along with his own bag.

"Thanks...again" I told him thankfully, making the mistake of looking up at him. Sirius was noticably taller than me, I would have estimated that he was probably about 5'10". His eyes held my own, and it was as if he refused to break eye contact.

"ALLY, SIRIUS GET A MOVE ON" James bellowed, making us both jump and we both turned to walk back up to the castle, following Fiona and James.

We were in the Hall and moving towards the Gryffindor table in no time. Looking down at my watch I saw that it was 1.30, meaning we had half an hour to eat and then get up to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As we moved further down the table, I caught sight of Lily, sitting with Alice, Susan, Lizzy and Remus. All turned to watch as we approached them, all of us in high spirits.

"Hey guys" Fiona greeted them happily, sitting down and eagerly piling up her plate. James sat himself down next to Fiona, and mimicked her actions as me and Sirius sat opposite them.

"Where have you lot been?!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing my arm to look at my watch.

"You should really ask Fiona and Pad about that" James replied grinning, before diving into his mountain of food. Sirius was shoving his food down in a wolf-like manner, looking as if he was going to make no attempt at answering Alice's question. Fiona set down her cutlery and a cheeky grin appeared on her face.

"Well, me and Sirius were having a small water fight at the end of Herbology when we accidently managed to get James" Fiona began, earning herself a glare from James at her last comment. "And then he got us back and we all ended up getting soaking and then Ally joined in and then Sirius and James soaked me and Ally but Professor Sprout only ackowledged our water fight when James and Sirius soaked us two and so they got into trouble and we didnt. And so then we began walking back up here for lunch but then we decided to wait for these two and here we are" Fiona managed to ramble out at top speed, while me, James and Sirius continued to eat out lunch.

"Can't say I'm all too suprised by that" Alice admitted, a smile on her face. Susan, Lizzy and Remus all laughed but Lily just sat there, not joining in. It looked like I wasn't the only one who noticed as I saw Fiona cast a wary eye in her direction. She then turned to me and sighed, shaking her head and I didn't need to be a mind reader to understand what that meant.

Lunch went very quickly, and only 15 minutes after we had sat down, we were all up again, and beginning to make our way up to our next class. Lily marched on ahead and I was unsure as to whether I should catch her up. She had been my first friend here and I was torn as to what I should do. Catching on to my trail of thoughts Fiona spoke up and told me to leave her for a while. I nodded and ambled along with the others. Sirius had insisted on taking my bag and so I felt it would be only polite to walk with him, James and Remus as we walked up multiple stair ways. I wasn't listening to their conversation, and was more focused on my mental map which I had pulled up as we had been walking. We stopped shortly and I managed to work out that our classroom was on the fifth floor towards the eastern end of the castle. Having sorted this one out, I turned to the four boys who were having a seemingly hushed conversation. I just stood there and looked at them, until James saw me looking, when he then proceeded to cough rather loudly. Sirius and Remus looked slightly puzzled and looked up, to see me standing there.

"Suprising though my presence may be..." I said, trying to make it un-awkward as I sensed it might be. All three of them just grinned at me, and I couldn't help but smile back at them.

"Nearly dinner time" James said happily, and I was suprised by this latest comment. He seemed shocked, and then he just smiled at me, although he still looked a little suprised. No prizes for guessing what had caused that reaction then.

"I'm guna go talk to the others, thanks for taking my bag Sirius" was all I could think to say, and he handed it over with a mischievious grin.

"Pleasure" was all he said, and I smiled once again before going over to join Fiona.

Defense Against the Dark Arts passed quickly, Professor Hunt being quick to the point and finishing his lesson quickly. I had enjoyed it, and was looking forward to our next lesson. As we made our way up to the common room for our free, Lily joined us. I gathered it had something to do with the boys not being present but chose not to say anything.

"Hey Lils" Fiona greeted her happily, deciding to just act as if it was a normal school day and everything.

"Hi Fi" Lily replied, sounding a little off but nothing too major.

"Good day?" Fiona continued, in a very happy manner. In fact, Fiona had been exceedingly happy all day (especially after the whole water fight incident), but then again, I got the feeling that Fiona was naturally a happy person.

"Yeah, the usual back to school stuff" Lily replied politely, in a seemingly formal tone of voice. Alice then struck up a conversation with Lily in which she replied heartily and chattered away leaving Fiona to raise her eyebrow, in apparent amusement. She fell into step beside me, and I could tell she was a bit peeved.

"This is going to be a great evening" was all Fiona said, glancing at Lily's back.

**Et Voila! Hope you all liked it! I'm on half term this week which means that I will most probably be able to post the next chapter sooner, so review away!**


	7. Cushion Wars

**A/N: A little more time on my hands has meant I've been able to update slightly quicker, so I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Fionas POV**

Today had been a great day really. In potions I was lucky to have Ally to sit next to and we got on really well. We talked about random things and just generally had a laugh. Also she helped me loads, and for once, my potion was actually deemed respectable. I see a good year for me for Potions. Not only this but Herbology was great. As much as I love Lily it does sometimes get tedious when she keeps going on about how annoying the Marauders are etc. I mean, I know where she gets it from, but they're just having a laugh. Sometimes I often wonder how me and Lily ever became friends, but oh well.

But honestly, what was Sprout thinking?! Pairing up me and Sirius. He's a bad influence on me, in fact they all are, especially James and Sirius though. I thought that the water fight would be a great oppertunity to see what kind of person Ally would be (yeah I know my logic seems messed up) and it worked great. It looks like I'm not the only one who can be easily influenced. I had a feeling when we first met that she would be an extremely shy and quiet person, who would keep themself to themself and not really, well, be a great deal of fun. But looks like Ally is not that kind of person. True, it looks as if she is keen on work and school but also that she just wants to have fun. My cousin and his friends are great really, and yeah they can be annoying sometimes, but their hearts are in the right place.

Anyway so here we are walking up to the common room, Lily walking ahead with Alice seeing as I'm not her favourite person right now. She always goes a little off when I get into trouble, but then again she's someone who complies exactly with the rules. She'll probably talk to me tonight about 'corrupting' Ally or something. I turn to Ally to see her eyes a shining silver colour. Curious, I wonder what this reflects, seeing as her eyes change depending on emotion or something like that. It was almost as if she could feel me watching her as she looked up and her eyes darkened slightly.

"Sorry, did I distract you?" I asked, grinning slightly.

"Oh no, not at all" she replied hastily, a smile appearing on her own face. By this time Lily and Alice have sped off into the distance and me and Ally are just trundling along. It was quiet, too quiet. Something was wrong. I looked around for something unusual but could see nothing out of place.

"Whats up?" I heard a voice ask, and I turned to see Ally looking at me in apparent curiosity, a small smile on her face. Her eyes were a bluey green colour, really quite nice.

"It's too quiet around here" I replied, casting an eye round, expecting something to happen at any moment.

"Worried by that fact are we?" a deep, husky voice to the right of me whispered. I screamed and had my wand out, pointing in front of me, only to find four laughing boys in front of me. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had apparently found my scream hysterical.

"That wasn't funny! You could have given me a heart attack!" I exclaimed, whacking the nearest person to me, which happened to be James.

"Ow, it wasn't that scary! Ally didn't scream!" James responded, rubbing his arm where I had whacked him. I turned to face Ally who just had a broad smile on her face.

"Yeah, why didn't you scream?" I asked her, folding my arms. Her smile just widened as she answered.

"I knew they were there" she said while shrugging her shoulders.

"And how did you know that?" Sirius asked, his voice as cocky as ever. I turned to face him, seeing him raise one of his eyebrows, looking curiously at her. Whether or not Ally knew it, she had most definently captured one of the Marauders eye. I had noticed it when they first met, and yesterday. But then again, you could never trust Sirius' motives.

"I heard you, you weren't that quiet you know" Ally replied, her voice growing in confidence. Sirius didn't say anything more on the matter, but continued to look at her, which then made her blush and look down. So obviously, he had some sort of effect on her. Jeez, fist Masters, and now, seemingly Sirius, who ever next?! I think we would need to have a good talk later, perhaps not in front of Lily.

The boys fell into step beside us, and all six of us carried on walking up the last few staircases to the common room. James had taken to walking with Ally and Sirius and Remus were on either side of me, with Peter trailing behind a little.

"What was all that about?" I asked Sirius quietly, a small smile on my face. Both him and Remus turned to look at me, Remus with a knowing look and Sirius with a quizzical one.

"All what? Us scaring you? Well that was just a part of-" he began before I managed to cut him off.

"No, I mean you and Ally" was all I said, Remus chuckling beside me.

"Now I'm really confused" he said, although I felt that wasn't totally honest.

"Doesn't take much Pad" Remus countered, still chuckling.

"Oi, I resent that comment, I'm not totally stupid" Sirius replied, feigning a look of offence. I knew him too well to know that he really didn't resent that comment.

"Don't go off track!" I exclaimed, drawing attention back to the conversation in hand. Honestly, boys: they get so sidetracked sometimes.

"What track?!" Sirius in turn exclaimed, and now Remus was laughing even more.

"You know what I'm talking about" I replied, and from the look that crossed his face when I said that I knew he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Yeah Pads, I'm curious to know about this as well, I think someones appreciating the new blood" Remus said, laughing. I pulled a face at him

"She's not a piece of meat Rem!" I exclaimed, whacking him. Jeez, boys these days. One track mind. It was at this unfortunate time that we had approached the common room and before we got too far in I turned to Sirius,

"This conversation isn't over" I warned him, thinking I could have some fun watching him squirm.

"I wasn't aware it had begun" he replied grinning, sauntering into the common room, turning every single girls head in the process. I just sighed as I went to move in when Remus spoke,

"It's there all right, I'll get him to tell me about it" he said in a low voice, making my heart flutter a little. What?! My heart fluttering?! This was just Remus talking to me! I shook my head a little and looked up, to see him grinning broadly.

"This is going to be fun" I replied, and entered the common room.

**Allys POV**

I walked with James up to the common room, and it was nice to talk to him some more. I had, had fun in Herbology today (even if we were supposed to be doing some work). Fiona was a great person and she was really easy to get on with, and always up for a laugh. I could hear her talking to Sirius and Remus behind us but didn't really pay any attention.

"I have my detention tonight, which SOME PEOPLE should have also got" he said, grinning broadly looking at me.

"Hey, don't complain to me, it was you and Sirius who soaked me and Fiona, and happened to get caught doing it" I replied, a smile on my face. I don't know why but I felt really comfortable around everyone here, it was almost as if I fit in. James just grinned in reply as we walked through the portrait and into the common room. I looked around for Lily and Alice but couldn't see either of them.

"Come and sit with us" James said, beckoning me over to where I had seen the boys sit yesterday evening. I followed him and took a seat on the sofa, pulling out my herbology book as I done so. After this action, I could hear a groan escape from James.

"Do you really have to do that now?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was obvious he wanted to smile but he was trying to resist to emphasise his point. At this, I saw Sirius, Fiona and Remus walk into the common room but stop, Fiona saying something to Sirius before they came in. I wondered what it is but was brought back to my present situation when I realised I was leaving James hanging.

"Yeah, I should" I began, now watching as the three of them, Peter trailing behind, came over to where we were sitting, "Especially seeing as someone disrupted my learning earlier" I continued, looking directly at Fiona while I was saying this.

"Hey you were asking for it!" she exclaimed, as she took a seat in one the armchairs in front of the fire place. Remus and Sirius were still standing, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Fiona throw Remus a pointed look: looking first at Sirius and then the sofa on which I was sitting on. She looked over and caught my eye, looking a little guilty at first, but then slowly a smile spread across her face. I frowned at her, but she took no notice and sat back in the armchair, pulling her feet up with her. I just sighed, and opened my book at the relevant chapter, and at once began to read, my mind absorbing any important details.

I hadn't been reading for very long when I heard Fiona call my name.

"ALLY", okay so she was yelling it. I looked up to see basically everyone looking at me. I shut my book, making sure I had marked my place and tried a weak smile.

"Sorry 'bout that, got a bit distracted" I said a little quietly, not meeting anyones eyes. They probably thought I was a right geek.

"It's fine, we're going down to dinner now, you coming?" she asked, beginning to heave herself out of her seat. The boys were already up and were waiting (impatiently) for us.

"Oh yeah sure" I said dropping my book on the seat and jumping up, joining the others.

"At last, lets goooo" Fiona said and begun a very fast walk through the portrait. I followed her out, the boys following us. I managed to catch up with her in the corridor, as we walked down the numerous amount of staircases, finally reaching the Great Hall, both Fiona and James breaking into a very, very fast walk to their seats. Remus and Sirius were walking next to me by this point, and I was just about to sit down when,

"Ally". I spun round on the spot looking for the source of the voice and saw it in the form of Luke. He waved me over, and I knew I had this one coming.

"You don't mind if I eat dinner with Luke do you?" I asked, looking at the five people sitting in front of me.

"Course not, its De Piesto! Goooo!" Fiona said, shooing me away with a grin on her face. I smiled back.

"I'll see you guys later then" I replied, and with that began making my way over to the Ravenclaw table ready for the Spanish (or should I say Italian) inquisition.

**Lukes POV**

I don't know why I was suprised to see Ally here, Max had told me she would be starting. However it seems that Max 'forgot' to tell Ally. Oh well. I waved her over and waited for her to come and join me, watching as she spoke to some of her housemates before coming over. She looked very happy actually, she was emitting a small glow. I don't think she quite realised this though. I watched as she walked up the table to where I was sitting, boys turning their heads to watch her. I frowned at this, hoping they wouldn't get any ideas. Ally was almost like a sister to me, and there was a very protective side of me when it came down to her. We had grown up together, and she was always a shy person, normally keeping herself to herself. True, I had never seen her at school, but from what Max and Sienna had told me, she was an extremely quiet person at school, spending most of her time in the library and not really having any friends. But here, well, she seemed to be getting a lot of friends, and it was only her second day.

"Hey" she said with a grin as she sat herself down opposite me. I couldn't help but smile back,

"Hello you" I replied, getting the politeness out of the way.

"I had a feeling you would call me over at some point" she said, rolling her eyes as she spoke. I just smiled back at her and began piling food on my plate, gesturing for her to do so as well.

"You know me too well then" I replied, looking up in time to see her roll her eyes for a second time as she put a decent amount of food onto her plate. This kind of situation was unusual for me, and I think for her as well. Normally we would converse in french or spanish, both of us feeling more comfortable with these two languages. But I guessed seeing as we were in England our conversations would be carried out in english, unless they were extremely important.

"So, how are you finding things?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. She just smiled as she ate, swallowing before she replied.

"Yeah, really good actually. Everyone's really nice and the lessons are really good. I thought I might have a problem with some of them, because of, well you know....things. But they're okay actually, but I guess it's only the start of lessons and they're bound to get harder, but so far so good!" she managed to get out all in one breath, before continuing with her food.

"Glad to hear it. I see you've been keeping select company, as well as a certain " I said, trying to be subtle about it. Unfortunately this didn't seem to work as she sighed in exasperation.

"He was just being nice, you know him better than I do anyway" she said, looking at me frowning a little. I couldn't help but chuckle at her expression

"True, I do indeed" I admitted, nodding my head a little, "but still, what's going on there?" I asked, making my point crystal clear. Again she sighed and shook her head,

"Jeez Luke, we just done some work together, I've only been here 5 minutes and you're already asking me this!" she exclaimed, looking directly at me, her eyes shining a slight orange. That wasn't a great sign.

"Okay, okay, just asking, you know what I'm like" I conceded, holding my hands up for emphasises. Luckily, she rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"Yeah, thats true, I do" she said cheekily, acting as if I was an annoyance in her life. She looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again,

"You, of course, will not be telling Max or Si anything about this though, right?" Ally asked, slightly threateningly. I grinned at her, which made her frown a little, although the glint of mischief was still there.

"If Max or Si, _happen_ to ask me it would be rude to not reply would it not?" I askd her, knowing this would get her a little. I loved winding her up, and she knew it.

"Thats not faaaiiiir" she moaned, her eyes almost pleading with me, "you know both of them will ask, come on _Luca_ do this for meeee?" she asked, greatly exagerrating the 'me', and using my native name. She smiled a little, knowing this always worked with me.

"Fine, fine" I said waving my hands, although there was a smile on my face as I done so, "but, on one condition" she leaned forward and I could see I had her attention.

"If you don't tell them things, when they ask you, and you keep on ignoring them, then I tell them, because, you know, it is my duty as your 'almost big brother' to inform them of certain things" I finished off. She frowned and I was ready for a battle.

"But Luca, if I don't want to tell them things, then I shouldn't have to" she countered, pouting a little. Although I had just geared up for a battle, I could see I would lose. Ally knew exactly how to play her cards, and it was hard to try and win.

"Fine, fine, but I'm telling you, Max and Si will be on my case" I sighed, resigned, and continued to eat my dinner. I saw her grin out of the corner of my eye and carry on with her own dinner, evidently pleased with her evenings work.

**Allys POV**

Dinner with Luke was really good, I already felt so much more comfortable at Hogwarts knowing that he was here as well. We finished dinner talking all the way through, when his friends turned up. I just smiled and got up to leave. Luke had tried to insist I stay with them but I told him I'd be fine and so found myself walking up to the common room by myself. I had pulled up my mental map and stopped, thinking I was at the common room, but, judging from the portaits on the wall, I had got it wrong. A frown appeared on my face as I spun round, trying to get my bearings, but, in all honesty I didn't have a clue where I was. It was then that I heard it, the sound of footsteps. By the sounds of it they were coming this way. I turned to face the direction of the footsteps and I found myself face to face with a boy, about 5'11", shortish black hair and green eyes. He smiled as he approached me,

"Hey, are you okay there? You look a little lost?" he asked, his voice soft and caring. I couldn't help but smile back and I felt myself instantly more at ease.

"Yeah, a little lost, I'm new here" I explained, gesturing round while I said so. I had no idea why I was gesturing with my hands, and as soon as I thought this, dropped them. This only caused the boy to smile wider.

"Allow me to be of assitance, Caleb, Caleb Simons" he said, stepping forward, a coy smile on his face.

"Ally, Ally Turner" I replied, smiling in return.

"So where are you headed?" he asked me, looking directly in my eyes. His fierce eye contact made me blush a little as I replied.

"Oh, um the Gryffindor common room" I told him, hoping he would be able to help me. I didn't think he was a Gryffindor, and, looking at his own school tie I saw that he was a Hufflepuff.

"Right, shall we go then?" he asked, extending his arm in the right direction, signalling for me to walk that way.

"Oh, yeah sure" I said as I headed in the direction he had pointed out. He fell into step beside me as he began to ask me a few more questions.

"So what year are you in then? I'm guessing you're a transfer as you don't look young enough to be a first year" he asked me, grinning in my direction. I shook my head,

"No, I'm a sixth year, and yes, you're right. I'm a transfer student, from Beauxbatons" I told him. I saw him frown at my last comment.

"Beauxbatons? That's the french school right?" he asked, and I nodded my head, indicating he was right.

"But you don't have a french accent" Caleb stated, the frown still on his face. I couldn't help but laugh a little at his expression, and this in turn made his frown disappear and a smile appeared on his own face.

"No, I don't. I do speak french but I was bought up with a mixture of french, spanish and english. I spend a portion of my holidays in England each year" I let him know, shrugging a little. His expression cleared when I told him this and he seemed content.

"Sixth year you said. I'm a sixth year too, yet I haven't had the priviledge of your company in any lessons yet" Caleb said, a little cockily, grinning. I felt myself blush a little again,

"Maybe tomorow might be you're lucky day then" I said, regaining control of the rush of heat to my cheeks, in order to look up at him, a small grin on my own face.

"I'll keep on hoping then" he replied, a large grin on his face. I just smiled back as I looked around, taking in the surroundings.

"Where abouts are we now?" I asked him, trying to get a grip on where abouts in the castle I was now.

"Oh, sixth floor, so just under the Gryffindor common room" he replied, seemingly startled by my asking this particular question. I frowned in slight concentration as I tried to place this on my map I had gradually built up in my head, now beginning to know where I was.

"I think I know where I am now. Thank you very much for you're help" I said to Caleb, stopping to face him. He stopped as well, a smile on his face.

"It's been my pleasure, so can you find your way from here?" he asked, evidently making sure I knew how to get up to my common room.

"Yup, I think so, just one quick flight of stairs and I'm more or less there, right?" I asked, a grin on my face.

"Got it in one" Caleb told me, a grin on his own face.

"Thank-you again" I told him sincerely, not wanting to keep him any longer.

"Again, my pleasure. Hopefully I'll see you around more often" he said to me, and I blushed a little at his statement, before I turned towards the staircase and beginning the short journey up to the common room.

It took me all of a few minutes to make my way back up to the common room, and as I walked in I scanned the room to see if I could find anybody. Sure enough I thought I could make out the figure of Fiona, and so I made my way over to the exact same spot I had been in before dinner. Coming closer I could see that my suspicions were correct, and it was Fiona I had managed to see. What I had failed to see was that she was surrounded by the Marauders, Lily and Alice being absent from the common room.

"Hi guys" I said, sitting down on the carpet in front of the fire, seeing as all the seats had been taken.

"Take your time why don't you?!" Fiona exclaimed, a large smile on her face. "What took you so long?" she continued to say, before I could say anything to her previous statement.

"Oh, I got a little lost on my way back up here" I admitted, a small shy smile on my face. Everyone was looking at me and I felt very aware of the immediate attention.

"And here we were thinking you were doing amazingly for someone who's just started" she said, nudging me slightly with her foot.

"So how did you manage to find your way back up here then?" James asked, only now beginning to contribute to the conversation.

"Oh I had to ask someone" I said, looking down as I realised how stupid I must have sounded. Fiona laughed a little before asking me another question,

"Come on then, who was it?" she asked, obviously wanting to know the answer quite badly. She had moved forward in her chair so as to hear me better apparently.

"Caleb Simons, I think he said his name was" I answered her, frowning a little as I tried to re-call his whole name. I looked up to see James, Sirius, Remus and Fiona all frowning at me.

"Hmmmm" was the only sound Fiona emitted. She was still frowning and she now turned to look at the three boys sitting with her. They were now all looking at each other, as if sharing a silent conversation. I simply sat there and watched them for a while, before I had a feeling that I was still sitting there.

"Missing something am I?" I asked, my voice low and quiet. However it was enough for them to jump at the sound of my voice. I was definently missing something here, and it wasn't a good thing.

**Sirius' POV**

Caleb Simons?! Caleb Simons?! He was the lowest of the low, pure scum. I couldn't believe it when Ally told us. What was he playing at?! Simons was re-known for being scum when it came down to girls. Admittedly, I was a bad one, but not to the extent of Simons. Date, dump, make life hell. That was his usual pattern. Yet the girls still liked him, still wanted to be with him. Jeez, girls. Anyways, when Ally said this a frown immediately found its way on my face, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Fiona turn in our direction. We ended up having a silent conversation: tell her? Don't tell her? Tell her all? Tell her parts? I had completely forgotten Ally was still sitting there, and was therefore suprised when her low, yet somehow still melodic voice reached my ears. I jumped, slightly startled. I saw her face, blank, slightly expressionless. I watched as Fiona slid down on the floor next to her.

"Gee, sorry bout that Ally! Got a bit....carried away" she grinned, having the decency to look slightly guilty.

"So Caleb Simons eh?!" Fiona continued, evidently wanting more detail. You could tell she was having difficulty coming out with that comment though. Ally seemingly didn't pick up on it, or either ignored it as she gave a small smile.

"Yeah, he was quite nice actually" she admitted, shrugging her shoulders slightly. My frown became even more pronounced at this comment. If Simons thought he could prey on Ally like that, then he had another thing coming. Fiona just smiled, and it was clear that something was up, and it seemed that Ally was getting a bit annoyed. Her eyes flashed orange temporarily which startled me. However, after a mere few seconds it changed back to her usual brown colour and she stood up. All of us watched this action, slightly apprehensively.

"I think I'm going to call it a night, see you all tomorow" she said quickly, before turning on her heel and disappearing up the stairs. I sighed and sunk back in my chair, watching as the others more or less mimicked this action.

"Well that was rubbish" was the only thing Fiona said, before she laid down on the carpet by the fire. "I'll leave her for a bit, and go up in about 15 minutes" she muttered, more talking to herself then anything.

"I reckon we should tell her about Simons and his scumbag reputation" I said, all but spitting out his name.

"I've always wondered how the hell he ended up in Hufflepuff, he should be in Slytherin" James pondered quietly, completely ignoring my previous comment.

"Hmm, I think we should, but not in a completely, well, angered way" Moony replied back to my comment, somewhat considerate.

"Yeah, he's most definently Slytherin material" Fiona admitted, looking up at James. All this two conversation business was confusing me so I decided to simply frown at Remus before looking towards the other two.

"Says the girl who had an almighty thing for him" I said to Fiona, a small grin on my face despite things. She sat up and just poked her tongue out at me,

"And people say that I'm immature" I retorted, grinning broadly at this point.

"That's because you are" she replied, getting her wand out. I was prepared and brought out my own wand, but was not expecting her to simply charm a cushion to whack my head.

"WAAAR!" I cried, shoving my wand in my pocket and grabbing a huge bundle of cushions from behind me and chucking them in her direction.

We were throwing cushions at each other for a good five minutes before somebody caught my attention. Turning I saw Ally walking in our direction. I turned to Fiona, nodding my head in the direction of Ally. Fiona frowned, obviously thinking I was just distracting her. Hmmm, now that sounds like a plan...No no, keep on track. Ally. She was walking towards us, her appearance scruffy, yet undeniably sexy......WHAT? What in the name of merlins pants did I just think?! Jeez. I shook my head , before looking back up at Ally. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Fiona look towards me, and I turned to look at her, a broad smile on her face. I just rolled my eyes at her, sending another cushion her way.

"Oii, just because I so happen to know what runs through your filthy mind" she said, grin remaining in place. I frowned at her, before sending yet another cushion her way. By this time Ally had made her way over, a small smile on her face. I looked up at her, somewhat expectantly, as did Fiona and the other two.

"I just forgot my book" she said, in her small voice, as she walked over in my direction. I looked around me, finding her book laying next to me. Grabbing it, I held it out for her, being the polite person that I am. Just as she was reaching out for it, it flew out of my hand, and her hand met empty air. She looked completely startled as she looked round to see where it had gone. I had a feeling I knew who it would be and looking for Fiona, I saw my suspicions confirmed. She had her wand out, levitating Ally's book.

"Ahh come on Ally, do you really have to?" Fiona asked, a large smile on her face. Ally grimaced a little before taking a determined step forward.

"'Fraid so" she answered shortly, again trying to reach out for her book. Fiona carried on grinning like a maniac, moving the book further out of reach. Ally took another deliberate step forward, and again Fiona moved the book. Me, Prongs and Moony were just sitting there, watching.

"Go on Fiona, just give her the book" James said, although there was a smile on his face. Ally took another step forward, but didn't reach out for the book. Fiona looked a little curious by this time, and turning my attention to Ally, I saw the faint glimmer of a smile on her face. In the swiftest of movements she had picked a cushion up off the ground, and had thrown it in the direction of Fiona. It whacked Fiona's arm, causing the book to drop into Ally's outstretched arm.

"And that, my friend, is how it's done" she said, a wide grin on her face, as she turned and began to walk towards the stairs. Me, James and Remus looked a little, well, suprised by this turn of events. Thinking Ally would get annoyed, and she really hadn't. It was such a typical, well, Fiona reaction I guess. Fiona was now muttering under her beath, and I was able to catch snippets of it,

"Ally......get her back.....suprise..."a small grin on her face, as she levitated a cushion, pushing it to Ally's direction. Now, I had a hard time hearing what Fiona was saying, yet the very second the cushion looked like it would hit Ally she simply moved aside, allowing it to zoom right past her. She spun round, to face Fiona, a large smile on her face.

"Come on Fiona, put some effort in" Ally told Fiona, sarcasm in her voice. I turned to look at Fiona, a smile on her own face by this time.

"What, like this?!" she exclaimed, suddenly levitating a whole bundle of cushions, which Ally had no hope in avoiding as they whacked into her. I turned to James, a grin on his face as he turned to get a cushion. Jeez, I swear he reads my mind sometimes....

**Allys POV**

I suprise myself sometimes. I could have carried on walking when Fiona charmed the cushion to come after me, yet I challenge her. I was totally not prepared for her to get a huge number of cushions to fly in my direction and they nearly all hit me. At this, Sirius and James began chucking cushions at each other, sometimes throwing them at Remus and Fiona, who then joined in as well. I stood there, a little suprised by what I had seemingly started. Standing there, unfortunately, done me no favours, as Fiona looked up, a manic smile on her face as she started throwing tonnes of cushions at me. However., this in turn, seemed a bad thing to do because it was at this time that Sirius and James stopped chucking cushions at each other and turned to look at us. Fiona stopped throwing cushions at me, to look at the two boys, as identical grins broke out on their faces.

"Uh-oh, you ready Ally?!" Fiona exclaimed, coming to stand next to me, cushions at the ready.

"Pay back time" James and Sirius both said at exactly the same time (which was really quite strange). At this, they bombarded us with cushions, and me and Fiona both chucked cushions at them. Remus joined in with James and Sirius, which meant that it was me and Fiona against three boys. However, what surpised me the most was that I was having fun. All throughout my previous years of school I had had no friends, been on my own, sat in the library and worked until as late as possible. And here I am. New school, second day, feeling like I've been here forever, known these people forever. And as I realised this, I began to immediately relax, feeling extremely comfortable, and allowing myself to have fun.

The chaos continued for ages! Me and Fiona had been backed up against one of the walls, and we had then proceeded to overturn one of the armchairs. We were now sitting behind this, peaking glances out every now and then. Surrounding us were loads of cushions, which we had strategically stored up. The boys had managed to overturn a whole sofa, and were now making base behind this. There had been a break in proceedings for a good five minutes, and me and Fiona took this time to just relax and sit back, although never letting our guard down. There was still the background noise of the normal people who had taken to moving out of our way, giving us a mixture of amused or exhasperated looks.

"They've been quiet for too long" Fiona murmured to me suddenly, a little apprehensive. I strained my ears to hear if I could pick anything, yet could hear nothing except the talking of other Gryffindors.

"I can't hear anything" I whispered back to Fiona, grabbing a cushion as I done so. Fiona shifted her position, and carefully pulled herself up to look over the top of the armchair, when a cushion sailed past her head. Ducking it again she grabbed more cushions and just began throwing them randomly over the chair, laughing while she done so. Grabbing a handful of cushions I joined her, and could see the boys just launching cushions right back at us, although they seemed to be moving forward while doing so.

"Fiona, have you noticed that they're gradually moving forward?!" I exclaimed, bringing her attention to things.

"Oh they can try, they'll probably try to get us to give up, BUT WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!" she exclaimed, shouting the last part of the sentence. The boys began to grin even wider and the cushions came in even greater bulk, and we carried on chucking cushions right back at them. However, we were soon running thin on the cushions, and the boys were exceptionally close.

"Right, when I count to three, we run over to them, with two cushions each. Buuuuuuuuut, we don't throw them, we just start hitting the boys with them. Plan?" Fiona asked, whispering.

"Plan" I agreed, turning to her, as we both cracked out in almost identical grins.

"Ready?" she asked, a little louder, which stopped the boys in their tracks.

"Ready" I agreed, taking in their curious expressions.

"One...two....THREE!" Fiona exclaimed as she advanced on the unsuspecting boys, beating them with the cushions. I just smiled before joining her, whacking anybody I possibly could. Catching onto our trail of thought the boys hung onto their own cushions, and began hitting us back. It was complete bedlam, until we heard a loud voice,

"What the HELL is going on here?". A girls voice, I assumed. However, it took us all by suprise and we all stopped hitting each other, taking a step away. This for me, proved the worst thing to do, as, during our fight, we had scrunched up the rug. Moving away caused me to stumble over a slight kink, and I felt my balance falter. As I began to fall, I grabbed onto anything to stop me from falling. Unfortunately, this happened to be Sirius, who had been standing next to me. Feeling the pull of my hand on his sleeve, he nearly instantly toppled, grabbing onto James, who grabbed onto Fiona, who in turn grabbed onto Remus. In the next second, we were all on the ground, me being, on the bottom. I heard Fiona laughing from somewhere above, which then set me off, and then the next thing I know, we're all laughing (which, let me tell you now, is extremely painful when you have four people piled on top of you). My laughing then turned into slight groans of pain, my shoulder and head were killing me. I had fallen hardly onto the suprisingly hard carpet. No wonder the rug was there. Anyway, Sirius, who was laying ontop of me, seemed to hear me.

"Are you okay down there?" he asked, his face inches away from mine. His eyes filled with some sort of emotion, yet I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

"Not really, but then I guess having four people of top of you doesn't help" I replied, my breathing irregular due to the weight on me.

"Come on guys, SHIFT, hurting person down here" Sirius said as loudly as he could.

"Sorry!" I heard Fiona say, as some weight began to illeviate. Finally, it seemed that it was just Sirius on top of me, as he gave me quick grin and got himself up. Laying there, my breathing was able to go back to normal, but this only seemed to intensify the pain in my head and shoulder. Looking up, I saw Fiona, Remus, James and Sirius all standing round me, frowns on their faces.

"Are you okay Ally? Did you hit your head? Are you hurt?" Fiona asked me, worry coming through in her voice. I sat up quickly, and I felt the room spin a little. I put a hand to my head, and sat stock still for a few seconds. Wow. My head really did hurt. As did my shoulder. I slowly saw someone come into my line of vision, as they sunk to my level.

"Painful?" Fiona asked, evidently concerned, yet she couldn't help but smile a little.

"Just a bit" I lied, still not daring to quite move and I returned the smile a little half heartedly.

"Come on then, maybe you should go lie down for a bit" she suggested, beginning to stand herself back up. Thinking about my nice, comfortable bed, made me attempt to stand up. I was doing so well until I got to an almost standing position when I felt my balance go, again. Fortunately for me, someone had thought to stand behind me, and two hands found their way either side of my waist, steadying me.

"Maybe a trip to the Hospital Wing is needed" the person said, chuckling a little. I wasn't really paying a lot of attention as my head was spinning again and I closed my eyes. Painfully, I might add.

I could hear someone sigh, and I opened my eyes slowly to look in the direction of the noise. Standing beside Fiona stood Lily, an angry frown on her face.

"Hmmm, yeah I think so too" Fiona admitted, looking closely at me.

"No, really, I'll be fine" I said, trying to take a step forwards. The hands on my waist however, didn't let go, which was a good thing as I stumbled a little.

"Yeah, you definently seem it" Sirius said from behind me. It was now that it clicked, and I realised it was Sirius whose hands were presently on my waist. However, the pain in my shoulder and head was beginning to increase, and I stopped thinking about Sirius.

"Right, let's go then" Fiona said, beginning to walk towards the portrait.

"And what about the mess you made?!" Lily exclaimed, gesturing round to the piles of cushions and the overturned armchair and sofa.

"We'll sort it out later, come on Ally, Hospital Wing" Fiona replied, looking at me slightly worried. I began to walk towards the portrait, stumbling a little as I done so. Sirius only removed one of his hands, one of them staying round my waist, as he helped me along.

"Prongs mate, you might want to walk the other side of her" I heard him mutter as we walked out of the portrait and into the deserted corridor. Once out here, I felt James move to my other side, and Sirius tighten his grip, pulling me towards him.

"I really am fine guys, just a bit of a headache, it'll be fine in the morning" I tried to protest as we carried on walking.

"Yeah, stumbling drunkenly is always a healthy sign when someone's just fallen over" James said sarcastically, a smile on his face. I frowned, and was forced to carry on walking as Sirius carried on pulling me. We didn't talk again until we had reached a large door at the end of one of the corridors. Fiona had walked ahead to inform Madam Pomfrey (James had told me her name) that we were coming. We walked in and at once a woman began walking extremely quickly towards us.

"Mr Black, if you would kindly guide her in this direction" she said sharply, although thankfully she kept her voice low. Sirius pulled me in the direction she pointed out, to one of the beds, where I slowly sat myself down. Only now did he release his hand, and I felt cold where it had previously been. He moved away, allowing the woman (who I presumed was Madam Pomfrey) to come closer.

"Right now Miss Turner, I heard you had a bit of a fall?" she asked, her voice still low.

"Yes, I did, but I'm fine really" I said, trying to push myself up off the bed, only for Madam Pomfrey to push me back down. Unfortunately, she pushed down on the shoulder that was hurting me and I groaned from the forceful action. She looked at me sceptically.

"I think it's not just your head you hurt dear" she said, now turning her attention to my shoulder. What I had failed to notice was a rip in my school shirt, exposing half of my shoulder. Dam Sirius. He must have seen it and not told anyone. Turning my head slowly, so as to not hurt it, I look down at my shoulder, to see a faint purpley outline appearing.

"You're going to have a big bruise there" Madam Pomfrey told me, pointing out the obvious. She bustled away somewhere, and I was left with Sirius, James and Fiona, all three of whom had frowns on their faces.

"Why don't you lie down Ally?" Fiona asked me, stepping forward towards me. I didn't argue, and just laid down, very carefully. I felt the tiredness engulf me, but fought to keep me eyes open. I heard the quick footsteps of Madam Pomfrey returning.

"Right now, I need you to take this potion, and I think we'll keep you in tonight" she told me, a frown on her face as well. I didn't argue and sat up to take the potion, feeling my head spin a little. Fiona steadied me, and I smiled thankfully up at her. Looking down at the potion, I saw that it was purple in colour, but drank it anyway. Slowly I felt my eyes become even more heavy, and I laid back down ontop of the covers, letting my eyes shut, as I fell into a deep, and painless sleep.


	8. Head Aches and Sore Shoulders

**A/N: A very quick update! Just want to say a quick thankyou to 'meandmybloodycoffin' and 'Lucy-is-Great' for reviewing! I dedicate this chapter to you, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter unfortunately does not belong to me**

**Allys POV**

I opened my eyes, slowly taking in my surroundings. I began to panic, as I realised I had no idea where I was. I sat up, extremely abruptly, only to sink slowly back down onto the bed, my head spinning.

"Easy there" a low voice chuckled, from the right of me. Turning I saw Sirius draped lazily in a chair, school uniform on, apart from the robe. My eyes widened, as I remembered the events of last night. I tried shifting up into a sitting position, being much slower, and taking care of my shoulder which now felt extremely heavy. On seeing me trying to get up, Sirius pushed himself out of the chair and moved over, putting a hand on my elbow, helping to pull me up. Once I was up, he propped my pillow up, making it easier for me to sit up properly.

"Thanks" I said, allowing a smile to appear on my face.

"My pleasure" he said, returning the smile, not bothering to sit back on the chair. Instead he chose to sit himself down on the bed, closer to me.

"How long have I been here?" I asked him, looking round the room, taking in the features for the first time. I was in just one of the many white washed beds in the large room. It had a high ceiling, with relatively large windows spanning the length of the room. The light outside was murky, the clouds covering most of the day. This made it even harder to see what time of day it is. I glanced instinctively down at my right wrist, where my watch normally was. However, when I looked down, my watch wasn't there.

"It's on the side" Sirius told me, evidently he had been watching me.

"Oh, thanks" I told him, reaching out my stiff and aching left arm to grab it. Looking down at the face I saw that it was 6.15, morning or evening I didn't know.

"You've only been in here over night" he told me. Six fifteen in the morning it is then. Hang about...

"How long have you been here?" I asked him, looking directly into his eyes. He broke eye contact this time, looking a little flustered.

"Not long" he replied, his voice low. I had a feeling he had been here for a while, yet chose not to say anything. A small silence fell on us, as he shifted slightly on the bed.

"How.." he began, coughing to clear his throat a little,

"How are you feeling today then?" he continued, still not looking directly at me, instead choosing to look out of the window.

"A little sore" I admitted, a small smile on my face. He turned back round to look at me, a grin on his face.

"Can't say I'm that suprised, but you can't say you didn't bring it on yourself" Sirius remarked, a smile on his face.

"It's not my fault my balance isn't great!" I exclaimed, which only increased the size of his smile. He just shook his head, but I still heard a low chuckle being emitted from him.

"Everyone else still asleep?" I asked him, curious to know if he was the only one up. He seemingly faltered for a minute before answering.

"Yup, I'm the only one up" he told me, a smile still on his face.

"You know, Remus will probably die of shock when he finds out" Sirius continued, chuckling a little at the thought. I recalled how him and James were two of the last down to breakfast. So if that was so, how comes he was up at this time today? I sat for a minute, thinking about things, before I felt him looking at me. I turned my eyes in his direction, taking in his eyes. They were a relatively dark grey today, and it didn't look like he had slept well.

"Was Lily mad about the whole messy common room thing?" I asked, deciding to not ask him about the tired look he had. His smile grew,

"A little, her and Fiona had a small argument about it" he replied, shrugging.

"Really?" I wondered, a little shocked. I didn't think it was that big a deal.

"Really. Evans, I think, was just a bit pissed that you two had spent your evening with us" Sirius informed me, watching me for my reaction. I frowned a little, as I remembered how Lily didn't like Sirius or James at all. However, I was saved from replying when the doors of the Hospital Wing opened. Me and Sirius both turned to see who it was, and I was extremely suprised to see Professor Dumbledore striding towards us.

"Good Morning Miss Turner, Mr Black" he said as he approached, nodding to each of us in turn. His blue eyes lingered on Sirius's position on the bed next to me, but didn't comment on it and didn't seem at all suprised to actually see Sirius here.

"Morning Professor" I replied politely, while Sirius just smiled, rather cockily it has to be said. Professor Dumbledore returned Sirius' smile, as he sat himself down on the chair Sirius had previously been occupying.

"How are you feeling today Miss Turner?" he asked, turning his attention to me.

"A little better thank-you, although a little stiff" I admitted, rolling my shoulder to try and ease it a little.

"Well, I think you're up there with Mr Black and Mr Potter" he told me, causing me to cast a puzzled look in the direction of Sirius, who just chuckled a little.

"Second day in and already in the Hospital Wing" he continued, giving an explanation for his previous statement. I smiled at this, as did Professor Dumbledore.

"Well, I'll let Madam Pomfrey check you over before you go back to school" he continued, his arms resting comfortably on the chair, as he cast alternate looks between me and Sirius. I nodded my head, to show I had ackowledged what he had just said.

"In the mean time, how are you getting along Miss Turner?" he asked happily, as if it was a normal occurance to have a general talk about school life in the early morning in the Hospital Wing.

"Oh, yes it's going very well thankyou sir" I replied, smiling. I didn't go into too much detail, but it seemed to suffice as Professor Dumbledore merely nodded and smiled in return.

"I'm very glad to hear you're settling in well" he responded, heaving himself up.

"Right, I shall leave you to get your rest, although I dare say Poppy will be up soon to check you over. In the mean time, at least you have some company" he commented, his blue eyes twinkling, looking over at Sirius. Sirius looked away at this statement, looking straight ahead, out of the window.

"I hope to see you up and about soon Miss Turner" he said, before turning on his heel, walking out of the Hospital Wing, shutting the doors quietly behind him.

"How did he know I'd be awake?" I asked Sirius, in slight amazement.

"Magic" he replied, a large grin on his face. I just rolled my eyes, although I couldn't help but smile. I looked at my shoulder, to see if the bruising had gone down when I realised I was no longer in my school uniform. Looking at myself for the first time since I woke up, I realised I was in my pyjamas.

"That's also magic" Sirius said, and I looked up to see him watching me, an amused expression on his face. I just shook my head, and it was then that Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room, smoothing out her apron. Looking up she smiled, and then she caught sight of Sirius.

"Mr Black," she began, and she opened her mouth to say something but shut it again, continuing to walk over to us.

"Can't say I'm too suprised" she murmured, a small smile on her face. Sirius said nothing, but got off the bed, sitting down in the chair. Madam Pomfrey put a hand to my head, as if checking for a temperature. Why, I didn't know, I only bumped my head.

"How is your head feeling today? Any dizziness?" she asked me, while beginning to softly poke my shoulder.

"Not that much" I lied, not wanting to really stay here any longer.

"She had a bit of difficulty when sitting up this morning" Sirius piped up. I just turned to him, glaring. He merely grinned at me. What a traitor.

"Hmmmm" was all Madam Pomfrey said, as she shifted up the sleeve of my t-shirt to look at my shoulder. Glancing down I could see an almighty purple bruise all round my shoulder. Fantastic.

"Not much I can do about that unfortunately" she muttered, low enough for Sirius not to hear. One of the down sides to being an Etoileige. Not all wizard medications worked. Normally I would have to be medically treated like a muggle. It had something to do with my blood. Although I'm not too sure what exactly.

"Well then Miss Turner, I'm happy to let you go, although you ought to be careful. Especially with the dizzy spells" she said, now looking towards Sirius.

"It seems that it's a good thing you're here Mr Black. Would you kindly escort Miss Turner up to your common room?" Madam Pomfrey asked, turning so that she could face Sirius properly.

"It would be my pleasure" he said grinning, and again, I rolled my eyes. Madam Pomfrey nodded, before beginning to tidy up, and as I put my watch on my wrist, I distinctly heard her tell Sirius to 'keep an eye on me'. Honestly, I was fine. I began to pull the covers off, when I realised I was embaressingly still in my pyjamas. A simple white tee and black shorts. Great. Not the most covering of stuff. And I had to walk through the castle like this. Thankfully it was only 6.45 which meant that the majority of people would still be in bed. I slowly began to move my legs off the bed, and went to stand up, when Sirius moved to stand next to me, his hand going to the small of my back. I felt the heat rise up to my cheeks, but shook my head, trying to clear it.

"Is your head hurting badly?" he asked quickly, and I looked up to see the same emotion in his eyes as I did yesterday when everyone was piled on top of me. Only now did I see what it really was; concern.

"No, I just feel a little light headed is all" I reassured him, standing up properly now. I shivered a little, feeling the cold morning air hit me. Unfortunately, I had nothing but the clothes I was standing in, which really didn't help. I felt the warmth of Sirius' hand leave my back and I wobbled a little at the sudden disappearance of his stability. I turned to him, only to see him taking off his jumper, revealing the untucked white school shirt with the loose tie. He handed me the jumper, a smile on his face. Unlike the other times I had seen him smile, this one seemed more genuine. It wasn't a mocking smile, or an amused smile, it was almost a more personal smile.

"I saw you shiver" he admitted, the smile becoming more lopsided. I was starting to become cold, and so didn't refuse it, but accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks" I told him, while putting on his jumper. It smelt extremely good, although it was miles too big for me. After I had it on, his hand returned to the small of my back, and I felt his warm hand heating me up a little. As I began to walk forward I realised I didn't even have any shoes on, though I was glad of the socks I had. We didn't speak until we began to climb the stairs up the common room.

"I honestly don't remember there being this many stairs on the way down" I commented, looking round as I said so. Sirius laughed,

"I'm not suprised, you were wobbling about all over the place" he managed to say through his laughter. I smiled, as he shook his head, his hand turning my body in the right direction. I was extremely aware of the close proximatey of our bodies, and I blushed suddenly at this thought. My head began to spin again as we continued to walk, and I felt Sirius's gaze on me several times. However, he refrained from saying anything, and soon enough we were in the corridor where the common room was. I barely registered Sirius saying the password as he guided me in. What I wasn't expecting was a full welcoming commitee. Fiona, Lily, Alice, Remus and James were all there, and looked suprised by our arrival. They all begun to walk towards us, but Sirius didn't remove his hand from my back. I was thankful of this, as my head was really spinning now, and I don't think I would have been on my feet for very long without him. It was Fiona who reached us first, and she pulled me into an unexpected hug. I felt Sirius remove his hand, and I was okay as Fiona was temporarily supporting me. However, the minute she let go, his hand was back, and I turned to give him a smile. He returned it half heartedly it would seem, his face in a semi-frown.

"How are you feeling today?" Fiona asked, a smile on her face.

"I'm fine" I said, attempting a feeble smile. It seems she wasn't fooled however, as she now looked a little concerned.

"You look a bit peaky, why don't you sit down" Lily suggested quietly, coming up to me with a friendly smile on her face. I tried smiling back, the room beginning to spin, my shoulder aching a lot. I nodded, and began walking over to the big sofa by the fire, Sirius following me. Once there he removed his hand, and I lowered myself down slowly. As I sat down I let out a sigh, and turned to see that everyone else had taken a seat around the fire. Sirius sat beside me, with Alice beside him. James threw himself on one of the armchairs, as did Remus. Lily and Fiona sat down on the opposite sofa, all of them looking at me. I sighed again, and shut my eyes, still feeling a little cold, despite Sirius' jumper.

"Not feeling great?" I heard him ask, picking up on the concern.

"Just a bit of a headache" I murmured, feeling the warmth radiating off of him, shivering as the other side of me experianced the cold morning air. My head was pounding, and I could feel my body shutting itself down, in the hope to repair. The last thing I remember was the feeling of warmth coming closer.

**Fiona's POV**

Ally really didn't look great. I saw her sigh and close her eyes, her head obviously hurting. However what I wasn't expecting was Sirius to draw Ally a little closer to himself, his arm wrapping round her. I don't think I was the only one left staring in suprise. Nonetheless, I was the one to recover first,

"What should we do?" I asked, and everyone turned to look at me, three pairs of eyes conveying extreme suprise, one conveying pure disapproval, and one oddly happy set.

"She's obviously not feeling great, I think we should just leave her to sleep it off" Remus said shaking his head a little, although I could clearly see the smile spreading on his face. James had turned his attention back to Sirius his eyebrows raised, a grin on his face.

"What? She was cold" Sirius defended himself immediately.

"Did I say anything?" James asked, his grin spreading.

"You were thinking it" he murmered under his breath, although I'm pretty sure everyone heard it.

"We can't just leave her on the sofa!" Lily exclaimed, pretending to have missed the whole James - Sirius conversation. I frowned, knowing that Lily was right. Although I also knew that, however light Ally was, there was no way me, Lily or Alice would be able to get Ally up the stairs to our dorm. We couldn't even get the boys t-...........That was it.

"Well, we'll just have to put her up in one of your beds" I said, looking at Remus, James and Sirius. Sirius' and James' eyes both widened and I heard Lily spluttering.

"Makes sense really" Remus admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

"What...but..." was all Lily managed to get out.

"Think about it Lils. Me or you or Alice could never get Ally up the stairs, however light she is. Magic wouldn't be careful enough, especially round the spiralling staircase. The only way she would get up the stairs without more bruises would be if someone carried her up" I explained, making my point very clear. I watched as Lily frowned in thought, before she sighed and got up.

"I'm going down to breakfast, coming Alice?" she asked irritably, chucking the boys a disgusted look. Alice got up, and gave me and the rest of the boys a smile, before following Lily out of the portrait. I sighed, knowing it would be another difficult day.

"Right, shall we move her then?" I asked, heaving myself up. My stomach began to grumble and I could really do with some breakfast. James and Remus both got up as well, as Sirius began to try and shift himself up. Once standing, he gathered Ally in his arms, her stirring a little as he done so. Slowly he followed James and Remus up the stairs, and I followed behind him. The question now, was what bed to put her in. I was going to go for the cleanest ones, although knowing the boys....

The boys dormitory wasn't too far up the stairs, and as I walked in, I could see that Remus had carried out a very quick cleaning charm. I caught his eye, seeing him throw me a quick smile.

"So, what bed is she going to go in?" I asked, glancing round. Frank and Peter looked like they were still asleep, although as I was thinking this, Frank sat up.

"What the hell is going on here?!" he exclaimed, looking extremely beweildered.

"Ally's fallen asleep, and we couldn't get her up to our room so she's staying in yours" I explained quickly, seeing Frank jump as he finally noticed me. He grumbled a little before turning over, evidently trying to go back to sleep. I just smiled, before turning my attention back to the bed situation. Walking round I saw that James' bed was a 'no-go-area'. Remus' wasn't too bad, and looking at Sirius' I was suprised to find it was relatively okay.

"So where's she going to go?" I asked the boys, thinking it should be up to them, especially as it was their room.

"Sirius?" Remus asked, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I don't mind" he replied, attempting to shrug his shoulders although it wasn't quite possible while he was holding Ally. He moved towards his own bed, and I stepped forward to pull his bed covers back, expecting to find something horrible, yet there was nothing there.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, I may be messy but I'm not dirty you know" he said, his voice low, a grin on his face.

"Well, you never know" I replied, as he lowered Ally gently onto the bed. She moved a little as I placed the duvet over her, but remained asleep. We then quietly made our way out of the room, shutting the door behind us with as little sound as possible.

"I think we should tell McGonagall" I said to the boys as we entered the Great Hall. I looked up at the staff table to see her engaged in conversation with Professor Dumbledore, who was looking our way as I spoke.

"Right, off you go then" James said as he sat himself down and began piling breakfast on his plate. Sirius and Remus also sat down and began eating at a rate only boys can get away with. I just looked at them before I ambled up to the staff table.

"Excuse me, Professor" I said politely, as I stood in front of McGonagall.

"Yes, Miss Shorts" she replied, in her ever curt manner, I could see Professor Dumbledore listening in out of the corner of my eye.

"Ally Turner had an accident yesterday. And Madam Pomfrey released her from the Hospital Wing but as soon as she got into the common room she said her head was hurting her and she then fell asleep. We've put her up in bed" I said, not quite sure what else to say. McGonagall frowned a little, but it was Professor Dumbledore who spoke.

"Then I suggest that you leave her to sleep it off. Perhaps, if you could go up to check on her everynow and then, Miss Shorts, keep an eye on her. I'm sure she'll be feeling much better by this evening" he said thoughtfully, a small smile on his face.

"Yes sir" I replied, before turning and heading back down the table. I cast a look towards the boys to see they were all shovelling their food down and talking, obviously not missing my company. I therefore decided to take a seat with the girls, who had been joined by Lizzy and Susan.

"Why's everyone up so early today?" I asked, taking a seat and pulling numerous amounts of breakfast foods towards me. I felt a pair of eyes on me, and knew without having to look that it would be Lily casting a disapproving look in my direction.

"Absoloutly no idea" Alice replied, eating her breakfast rather slowly it has to be said.

"So how on earth did Ally even end up in the Hospital Wing last night?" Susan exclaimed, turning towards me. There was a large smile on her face as she said so, although she was trying her best to hide it. I was just about to answer when I was interuppted by a gravelly voice.

"Excuse me, would you happen to know where Ally is?"

I looked up to see the gorgeous De Piesto looking down at the five of us. Susan instantly began playing with her hair, Lizzy blushed, Alice and me just stared and Lily, it seemed, was in her element.

"Oh, she had a bit of an accident last night, and she's still not fully recovered so she's sleeping it off in the dormitory at the moment" she said very quickly, not breaking eye contact from him. He frowned a little, concern evident in his face.

"What kind of accident?" he asked, the Italian twang coming through in his voice. It seemed that Lily had been rendered slightly speechless by this, and I quickly shook my head and turned in my seat to answer him.

"She fell over in the common room, dragging a few people with her. She banged her head and bruised her arm" I told him, gazing into the amazingly blue eyes. He chuckled a little, a deep throaty sound, in which we all just stared up at him.

"Thank you very much, I'll see you around" he said, eyes lingering on Lily, who blushed a little. He then proceeded to saunter off to the Ravenclaw table where his friends immediately engaged him in conversation, occassionally sending looks our way.

"Merlin, that boy is hot" Susan said, breaking the silence first. She looked round at all of us, before her eyes rested on Lily.

"I think somone has just found themselves an admirer" Susan said, in a very sing-song voice. I broke out in a large grin, turning to look at Lily, who looked a little suprised.

"Oh, no, no I don't think I have" she said, shaking her head as if to clear it a little.

"I would most definently have to agree with Susan" Alice chipped in, a grin on her own face. Lily blushed again, which in itself was rather unusual. Nothing ever seemed to deter that girl. She looked down, before looking back up again, a small smile on her face as she carried on eating her breakfast. We all just continued grinning at her, until she looked up at us.

"What?!" she exclaimed, although she most certainly knew what we were talking about.

"You so know what! Did you _see_ how he looked at you?!" Susan exclaimed, as me, Alice and Lizzy all nodded along with her.

"You all agree with me, don't you?" she asked the three of us, turning to face us all.

"Yep!" we all said in unison, which caused us to laugh.

"But seriously Lils, I reckon you have a good chance with De Piesto" I commented, sending a smile her way. She shrugged, returning my smile, and it was at this point that we all carried on eating.

We didn't stay too long in the Great Hall as we all had to go back up the common room to grab our stuff. On our way out, I subtly turned to look in the direction of the Ravenclaw direction just in time to see De Piesto turning his head in our direction. I smiled a little, continuing to walk out when we were stopped by the Marauders. Lily said nothing but carried on walking, and Susan and Alice walked with her, Lizzy hanging back with me.

"What did Dumbledore say to you?" Sirius asked me as soon as we had approached them.

"Hi Lizzy" Remus greeted her politely, and she smiled back at him.

"It's nice to know some people have manners" I said, grinning. Sirius just rolled his eyes and looked at me expectantly.

"Just that we should leave her, but keep checking up on her" I informed him. He just looked at me before shrugging his shoulders, and began to walk, the rest of us following him.

"So what _did_ happen?" Lizzy asked from beside of me. I turned to look at her, a grin on my face.

"Basically, we ended up having a cushion fight in the common room last night. Then, Lily interupted us, scaring the living day lights out of us" I added, thinking back to yesterdays events.

"We then all stepped back, which was the wrong thing for Ally to do as she stumbled over the rug and fell pulling Sirius with her. Sirius then grabbed onto James, who grabbed onto me, and then I grabbed onto Remus and we all ended up on the floor.....on top of Ally" I explained, Lizzy rolled her eyes but still smiled.

"Then Sirius told us all to move, and Ally was kinda crumpled on the floor" I continued to explain to Lizzy who looked unsurpised by this point.

"And when she tried to sit up she had no sense of balance and Sirius had to pull her up and steady her all the way to the Hospital Wing" I informed her. At this point a large smile was on her face and she faced forward to look at Sirius' back, her expresision turning beweildered.

"I know, he's got it baaaaad" I whispered, giggling a little.

"No way!" Lizzy exclaimed extremely loudly, The boys all turned to look round, sending us quizzical looks. Me and Lizzy just shrugged at precisely the same time which made us laugh. James, Remus and Sirius just looked at us strangely before turning back round, resuming their discussion.

"Well, he hasn't admitted anything, and he hasn't exactly known her long at all, but I've never seen him like this before" I whispered, making sure the boys most definently couldn't hear us. Lizzy's eyes widened as I told her this,

"But, he's Sirius Black!" she managed to say in a whisper, keeping her voice down.

"I know, strange huh?!" I agreed, nodding along with her.

"I reckon we should keep tabs on the situation" Lizzy told me, a smile now breaking out.

"Yeah, but I don't think we should really get Lily too involved" I said, and Lizzy nodded along, agreeing with me.

"Most definently, that would be a recipe for trouble" she agreed, leaving our conversation at that.

We left Lizzy on the third floor, by the Charms classroom as the rest of us headed back up to the common room to grab our stuff. As we entered the common room we saw Alice and Lily by the foot of the stairs. They stopped talking when we walked in, and Lily gave us a sceptical look.

"Have you checked on Ally?" I asked her as I walked towards the stairs.

"No" was her short, yet concise answer. I just looked at her and she sighed before giving me a feeble smile.

"I wouldn't walk in their room if you paid me" she said, the faint outline of a grin appearing. I just laughed out loud before I ran up the stairs into our dormitory. Grabbing my books, I shoved them roughly into my bag before making my way over to the boys dormitorys to check on Ally. I could hear their voices talking quietly as I knocked softly on the door before walking in.

"What was the point of knocking if you're going to storm in anyway?!" James exclaimed quietly, standing in the centre of the room.

"Just a warning that I'm coming in" I replied in a small whisper, glancing round the room. James had a text book in his hand as he began throwing things off of his bed onto the floor, most probably looking for his other books. Remus was packing his bag and Sirius was also rummaging for books.

"We've been here all of two full days and you've already lost your books?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest as I done so.

"How about you make yourself useful and help us?" James asked, slightly irritably as he continued chucking anything and everything across the room. I slowly made my way over, being careful to walk around the numerous objects scattered around the room. I began sifting through the pile of his bed cautiously, before I unearthed one book.

"Voila" I announced chucking the book in his direction. Being a quidditch player, he caught it with ease, shoving it in his bag.

After a while I gave up and went to sit on Remus' bed which he was currently sitting on reading after he had gotten ready ages ago.

"Right, I give up" James and Sirius both said at precisely the same time, which caused them to just grin at each other. James stood up and backed away from his bed, not realising the mess he created. This then meant that he slipped on one of his many t-shirts, and crashed to the floor. We all sat in silence and turned to look in the direction of Sirius' bed, only to see Ally sitting up, looking extremely dazed, a hand on her head.

**Allys POV**

The crash startled me. I sat up, only to feel the spinning commence again, and I lifted a hand to my head hoping it would make it better. Looking around I saw Fiona make her way over to me. Remus was sitting on a bed, James was currently on the floor and Sirius was kneeling by the bed I was on. Fiona sat herself down on the bed next to me.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, a slight frown on her face. I looked round again, not having a clue where I was. I felt extremely disorientated.

"You're in the boys dormitory" Fiona explained, seeing that I didn't know where I was. Now it was my turn to frown, the boys dormitory? Why was I up here? Last thing I remembered was sitting on the sofa in the common room. As I sat there in thought Sirius stood up and went over to give James a hand up.

"Sorry 'bout waking you up Ally" James apologised, a small smile on his face.

"It's okay" I replied quietly, still a little confused.

"Why am I up here?" I asked, turning to face Fiona. She smiled at my question and explained,

"Well you fell asleep on the sofa in the common room and we couldn't exactly leave you there. Me, Alice or Lily wouldn't have been able to get you up the stairs to our dormitory, no matter how light you are" she added on the end, a grin now on her face.

"Magic would probably end up giving you more bruises and so Sirius carried you up here" she finished off. Sirius carried me up here?! How embaressing.

"So how are you feeling? Do you want anything to eat?" Fiona now asked, taking in my appearance.

"I'm not really hungry" I told her, because I really wasn't. I knew it wasn't good to go without food but I couldn't force myself to eat.

"I guess I'd better get ready for school" I said, now trying to get myself out of bed. I felt the room spin as I stood up, and Fiona gently pushed me back down.

"Don't worry about school, Dumbledore told me to leave you and keep checking on you through the day" she explained gently, as she pulled the duvet back over me again.

"But I've only been here two days!" I exclaimed, trying to get up again. I had only just arrived, I couldn't afford to miss any lessons.

"It's fine really, we'll get the work for you if it makes you feel better" Fiona told me, pushing me down yet again.

"Fiona's right, we can't have you stumbling round school" James said, entering the conversation from the middle of the room where he stood next to Sirius. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't win this one. And I was feeling pretty tired. But I couldn't stay in the boys dormitory. I tried getting up again, to no avail. Fiona pushed me back down....again.

"You're not going anywhere!" she exclaimed, although there was a smile on her face.

"I was just going to go to my own bed" I explained, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

"My bed not good enough for you?" Sirius asked, and I turned to see a smile on his face. SIRIUS' BED?! Could this day get any more embaressing?!

"I think it's best if you stay here, that way all of us can check on you" Fiona said thoughtfully, turning to look at the boys.

"Fine with us" James said, and I saw both Sirius and Remus nod along. I sighed again, and moved my body more comfortably into the bed, Fiona acting all parental and pulling the duvet over me, a grin on her face.

"Sure you don't want anything to eat?" she asked me again.

"I'm fine" I reassured her, feeling a little uncomfortable with everyone looking at me.

"Okay, well we have to go to lessons now, but we'll keep coming up to check on you. Just try and get some rest" Fiona said smiling, now moving off the bed. I just smiled feebly at her, and watched as they all began to make their way out of the room. Sirius was the last one out and he hesitated by the door.

"Thank you" I said quietly, and I watched as he turned, a small smile on his face.

"My pleasure" he replied, equally as quietly, and as he walked out he shut the door quietly behind him. I snuggled down more comfortably into the bed. The duvet smelt of him, and breathing in his smell made me feel oddly relaxed, as I drifted off into sleep.

I don't know how long I was asleep for but the next time I woke up was to the sound of the door creaking. I slowly opened my eyes, my vision slightly blurred as a figure crossed the room in my direction. The light outside was dim and I sat up slowly, only to feel that my head was much better. The spinning had subsided and the only thing that felt wrong was my shoulder.

"Good evening!" Fiona exclaimed, now coming to sit on the bed.

"It's evening?" I asked, slightly startled by this revelation.

"Yup, you've been asleep all day. You really must have needed it" she told me, a smile on her face. I smiled back at her, and this seemed to reassure her.

"So you feeling better?" she asked me, settling herself more comfortably on the bed, crossing her legs.

"Yeah, much actually. My head's stopped spinning, it's just my shoulder that's the problem" I told her, now rotating the aching shoulder to try and loosen it up.

"Well then, that's all good" she said encouragingly.

"Oh I forgot to tell you this morning, De Piesto asked after you at breakfast" Fiona informed me. Ah Luke.

"What did he say?" I asked, almost knowing the answer.

"Just asked where you were, and what you had done. He didn't seem too suprised actually" she said thoughtfully, looking up at me evidently wanting me to explain.

"Falling over isn't exactly unsusual for me" I told her, a smile on my face. I watched as my smile was mirrored on her own face.

"Ahh I see. Oh, and, gossip" she said, now moving herself forward.

"I think he'll be asking you about Lily when you see him next" she told me, her smile now widening.

"Lily?" I queried, looking at her slightly quizzically.

"Mm-hmm. I think he's taken an interest" she informed me, and I smiled a little, knowing the effect Luke had on girls.

"Thanks for the advanced warning" I told her, trying to sit up a little better, shifting the position of the pillow behind me.

"Sleep well in Sirius' bed?" Fiona asked, a grin lighting up her eyes. I think she knew the effect this would have on me and she was right, I blushed.

"You know, all the girls in the school will envy you now. They'd all kill to get in his bed" she said, now beginning to laugh. I gathered from this piece of information that Sirius was extremely popular with the girls here. I joined in with her laughter when the door opened again. This time it was James who walked in, and he smiled as he approached us.

"I take it you're feeling better then?" he asked me, coming to a stop next to the bed.

"Much, thankyou" I replied, looking up at him.

"Glad to hear it, although you're most probably hungry?" he continued. I thought about this for a moment, and I felt the emptiness in my stomach.

"Yeah, I am actually" I said, looking down at my watch. 7 o'clock. Dam. I had missed dinner. Guess I'd be waiting until tomorow morning now.

"Don't worry about the time, we'll go and get you something. Do you want anything in particular?" he asked, and I frowned slightly. I was obviously out of the loop with this one, and I turned to see Fiona who just rolled her eyes.

"Erm, I'm really not fussy, although could I please have a glass of orange juice?" I asked slightly hesitantly. James gave one nod of his head, and he was gone in a flash.

"Isn't dinner over?" I asked Fiona, puzzled.

"Yeah, don't worry they'll manage to rummage you up something" she said, leaving it at that. I just shrugged my shoulders as I began to pull the covers back.

"I'm guessing you want to get out of bed then?" Fiona asked me, shifting herself off of the bed. I nodded and she gave me a hand, although I was really fine.

"Jeez, you're hot!" she exclaimed when she made contact with my hand. I just looked at her, hoping that she wouldn't question it too far.

"I guess you have been in bed all day" was all she said, and I watched as a grin appeared on her face and her eyebrows rose as she took in my appearance. I was slightly confused by this, and looked down to find that I still had Sirius' jumper on. I blushed and looked down.

"And how did you manage to get that one?" I heard her ask, and I looked up to see the grin still on her face.

"Oh, erm, on the way back from the Hospital Wing he gave it to me" I said quietly, watching as the grin never faded from her face.

"I see" was all she said as we made our way across the room. I had completely forgotten I was still in my pyjamas until we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Fiona, I'm still in my pyjamas!" I exclaimed, stopping on the second to last step.

"You're fine. How do you manage to look good when you've spent last night in the Hospital Wing and all day in bed?" she asked me, although there was a small smile on her face. I just shrugged and she pulled me into the common room, in the direction of the fire. Looking round I saw that the common room was actually extremely empty; I had thought that it would have been full. I sunk down on one of the sofa's, very glad of Sirius' jumper and the heat coming from the fire.

Me and Fiona sat around talking when I realised that we were missing a few people.

"Where's Lily and Alice?" I asked her looking round the common room which had slowly begun to fill up.

"I left them in the Great Hall, and then I think Lily wanted to go to the library" Fiona said, as if the very idea of the library was not at all understandable. I laughed a little, and Fiona broke out into a smile. We lapsed into an oddly comfortable silence when James and Sirius came bounding into the common room, followed by Remus. They had two plates, cuttlery and a glass of what seemed to be orange juice in their hands.

"Dinner m'lady" Sirius said, handing me the plate on which there was a steaming hot chicken casserole. It looked extremely lovely, and Remus handed me my glass of orange juice as well as some cuttlery. James still had a plate in his hand but I didn't question it as they all sat down and I began to eat. The rest of them chattered away as I ate hungrily. After I had finished I still wasn't feeling quite right and I knew why instantly. I grabbed the orange juice I had placed by my feet and drank it down in one, already feeling much better.

"Thanks you three" I said, completely interuppting their conversation. They all grinned at me before James handed me another plate.

"Pudding" he announced, revealing a slab of chocolate fudge cake...............my very favourite. My eyes widened in suprise, and looking up I saw Fiona do the same.

"Want some Fiona?" I asked her, a smile on my face.

"Hell yeah!" she replied, quickly grabbing a quill off a random table and transfiguring it into a fork. She shoved Sirius out of the way and sat next to me, digging in. It was amazing, and we both sat in silence, savouring it happily.

"Wow,is that all it takes? I should try that with Lily" James said thoughtfully. Fiona grabbed a cushion from beside her and chucked it at him. He was about to chuck it back when he stopped, a grin spreading on his face.

"Not such a good idea, hey Ally?" he asked me.

"Much appreciated" I said, not being able to help the smile that appeared on my face. Just as we polished off the cake Lily and Alice walked through the portrait, a broad smile on Lily's face. However, it seemed to slide a little when she saw who we were sitting with.

"Hey Ally! How you feeling?" she asked from a distance, smiling at me.

"Much better thankyou" I replied, as Fiona took the plate off of my lap, trying to get any crumbs. I just giggled a little, which caused her to look up and grin at me.

"Glad to hear it. Here, Luke asked me to give you this" Lily told me, coming forward to hand me a piece of parchment. I stood up, and watched as Fiona, Sirius, James and Remus all tensed up, moving to the edge of their seats.

"I'm fine" I told them, as I stretched out my good right arm to get the parchment off Lily.

"Thanks" I said to her as I sat back down, and began reading.

'_Jeez Ally, two days and you've already visited the Hospital Wing_ the letter began, and I couldn't help but smile. I could see Fiona itching to see what he had written and I motioned for her to read as well. I saw Lily and Alice move to a table in the corner and I continued to read.

_Anyway, Lily told me that Fiona's keeping an eye on you, I'll thank her for that one later. I hope the head feels better in the morning and I see you tomorow morning at breakfast. If I don't...I'll begin to worry._

_Luca_

_x'_

It was short and too the point, but thoughtful. I heard Fiona's small intake of breath when she read about Luke thanking her. I nudged her in the ribs slightly,

"What?! You can't blame a girl for dreaming can you!" she exclaimed, nudging me back.

"So, Luke's been talking to Lily some more I see" I asked Fiona, managing to see James turn sharply in our direction out the corner of my eye.

"It would seem so, most probably saw her in the library" she said grinning, looking over to where Lily currently sat. At this point Lily looked over to where we were sitting, when Alice got up and came over to us.

"Ally, I forgot to tell you. Madam Pomfrey said that when you were up could you go down and see her please" she said, sitting herself ontop of Fiona.

"Heeey, geddoff" Fiona said, shoving Alice, who didn't react.

"Oh yeah, I guess I should go now then" I replied standing up. Just in time too, as Fiona chucked Alice off her lap who proceeded to fall where I had just been sitting. However, as I began walking towards the portrait I felt someone gently grab my arm. Turning I saw Fiona holding me back,

"Going for a walk in those shorts? You'll get bombarded" she told me, grinning. I blushed as I remembered I was still in my pyjamas....and Sirius' jumper. I turned and headed back to the sofa, tugging at the jumper to give it back to him.

"You can hang onto that for now" Sirius told me, grinning. I blushed a little again.

"Are you sure?" I asked him, not wanting to deprive him of it.

"Yup, sure" he said, continuing to grin, as Fiona pushed me in the direction of the stairs.

"Come on, go put some tracksuit bottoms on and shoes and we'll go now" she said, now proceeding to drag me up the stairs into the dormitory. Once there she let go of me and sat herself down on her bed, smiling broadly at me. I just looked at her quizzically before I turned and opened my trunk, rummaging around. As I began sifting through I saw several new pieces of clothing with tags on them. I groaned slightly as I felt my hand touch something silky.

"Whats up?" Fiona asked, moving off of her bed and coming to sit on the ground next to me.

"I forgot Sienna packed for me" I said, as Fiona still looked in the dark.

"I wasn't allowed to pack myself. Sienna doesn't like the large majority of my clothes" I explained, and Fiona chuckled as she looked through my trunk.

"What's this?" she asked, pulling at a green silk, which I guessed was the exact same thing that I had just brushed my hand against.

"Your guess is as good as mine" I told her shrugging, and I tugged it carefully until it came free. Shaking it, I stood up and held it up as I heard Fiona gasp. It was an emerald green, silk, strapless dress, which came to just above my knee.

"When did she think I'd be wearing this?!" I exclaimed looking down at the dress.

"That is amazing" Fiona said, her eyes lighting up. I just rolled my eyes and folded it, putting it back into my trunk. I sighed as I carried on rummaging through, trying to find some sort of trousers to put on. At last I came across a pair of ripped jeans. New ripped jeans. Sighing again I picked them up and made my way to the bathroom to put them on.

After doing so I came out to see Fiona sat on her bed waiting for me.

"Nice jeans" she commented grinning. I just shrugged my shoulders as I deposited my pyjama shorts on my bed. I shoved on some simple white plimsoles and then I remembered that I still had on Sirius' jumper and was about to take it off when Fiona stopped me.

"No time for that, come on let's go" she said, grabbing me. I looked at her puzzled,

"It will take me two seconds to take this off" I told her a little confused. This obviously reflected in my eyes as she glanced at me before explaining.

"But how long will it take for you to find another jumper?" she asked me. I sighed, knowing she was right.

"Fine, come on then" I said to her as we crossed the dormitory and walked down the stairs. As we walked into the common room I saw that everyone was in the same place that we had left them, and they looked up as we came in.

"See you in a bit" Fiona said happily as we both walked across the common room. Sirius looked like he was going to say something but apparently decided against it and we walked out of the portrait into the corridor. As we walked along I remembered a question I had been meaning to ask for a while, whether or not Fiona would know the answer remained to be seen,

"Fiona, can I ask you something?" I began, and she turned to look at me, eyebrows raised.

"Sure you can" she encouraged, a smile on her face.

"Do you know how long Sirius was sitting in the Hospital Wing for?" I asked, slightly quietly. I watched as the smile turned into a grin as she replied,

"Well, after you were out for the night, I think he stayed for a bit then before he went off to his detention. And then this morning, well James said he heard him get up about half four" she said, still grinning. My eyes widened as Fiona told me this, and instantly I began to wonder why he sat there for that length of time. I looked at Fiona and she shrugged.

"This is unusual for him, so I have no idea" she told me, although there was still a smile on her face. We said nothing as we continued to walk down the stairs until we reached the Hospital Wing, which was empty. Madam Pomfrey was doing some cleaning as we walked in and she walked hurridly over to us.

"Well Miss Turner, would you like to take a quick seat" she said, indicating for me to take a seat on one of the beds. I done as she asked and she came over, again putting a hand to my head.

"Much better" she murmured quietly, but low enough for me to hear.

"Hows your head feeling now?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking me right in the eye.

"Much better, I don't feel dizzy any more" I told her honestly, and she seemed pleased with this.

"And your shoulder?" she asked. I rotated it, feeling a small amount of pain.

"A bit sore" I admitted.

"Well then, in that case, you can be on your way Miss Turner" Madam Pomfrey told me, giving me a small smile before continuing with her cleaning. I hopped off of the bed and me and Fiona gradually made our way out of the Hospital Wing and back up the stairs to the common room. I was still thinking over what Fiona had told me, '_This is unusual for him'_. But why? My pondering took us all the way up to the common room when I only really became aware of where we were when Lily began talking to me. I looked around, seeing no sign of the boys.

"All clear?" she asked from beside of me, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah all good" I replied, now focusing a little more on the conversation. Lily was now leaning towards me, a slight frown on her face.

"Jeez Ally, talk about reek of him" she said, her face scrunched up. Evidently Fiona hadn't told Lily that it was in Sirius' bed I had been placed.

"Sorry?" I queried, not quite sure what else to say. The situation became a bit awkward and so I got up abruptly.

"Erm, I'm going to go have a shower" I explained. Fiona mouthed '_help'_ and I just smiled as I walked towards the stairs.

The hot water helped to ease my shoulder up a bit, although the bruising on it was really quite severe for just a small fall on the carpet. I charmed my hair dry and put on a fresh pair of pyjama trousers and top, before I realised I still had Sirius' jumper. Deciding it would be best to give it back to him before Lily came up and saw it laying across my bed, I put on a simple black cardigan before grabbing the jumper and heading out of our dormitory. I tried to remember how far down I had walked down the stairs earlier and counted up until I saw the sixth year boys room. I thought it would be best if I knocked first, and so done so before hearing them all yell, 'Come in'. I opened the door cautiously but it was all okay as they were all sitting round James' bed, a piece of parchment in the middle of them. They all turned to watch me come in the room but looked unsuprised that it was me.

"Hi Ally" James said, beckoning me over. I saw the piece of parchment disappear rapidly as I made my way over.

"Hi, I just wanted to give this back" I said, now turning to Sirius.

"I see you didn't want to keep it then" he said, more of a statement then a question as I handed him the jumper. I smiled a little as he grinned back at me, jumping up to put it on his own bed. He then sat himself back down on the bed, moving up and gesturing for me to sit down next to him. Cautiously I took a seat and I could see James open his mouth to speak when the door flew open and Fiona stormed in.

"She is driving me crazy! '_Ally stinks of Sirius'_ you'd think it was a crime! Then she starts actually telling me what to do, saying I'm spending too much time with you. I then pointed out that you were my cousin and she just stormed off up to the dormitory. If I go up there I swear I'll say something I reg-" she managed to get out in one breath, almost seething. However she stopped when she saw me sitting on the bed, looking at her slightly worridly.

"Oh, I didn't see you sitting there! Nice shower?" she asked, bounding over, nearly knocking Remus off the bed as she budged him up to sit next to me.

"Yeah it was thanks" I replied a little hesitantly admittedly.

"Are you okay Fi?" James asked seemingly concerned, although when I turned to look at him there was a smile on his face.

"Fine, fine, just a little tense is all" she replied waving her hand. It was then that she turned back to me, and a look of shock came across her face.

"Merlin!!!! That must really hurt!" she exclaimed, now looking fixedly at my shoulder. Looking down I saw that my cardigan had slipped a little, and the purple bruise could be seen. I looked up to see the boys looking slightly shocked by it, and I hurridly pulled my cardigan back up.

"It's fine. The shower really helped" I said quickly, keen to move conversation away from myself. It seemed they weren't convinced and they all gave me sceptical looks,

"Really! I'm honestly fine!" I reassured them, but they still looked slightly sceptical. I just sighed and allowed them time to get over the initial shock of it, but I really was fine.

**Sirius' POV**

The bruise on Ally's shoulder was extremely big, and I wondered why Madam Pomfrey hadn't done anything to help her. Surely there must have been something she could have done. I let the question slide out of my mind as the others moved the conversation on, and I saw Ally smile gratefully at Fiona who had been the one to start a new topic.

"Let's do something fun, but not dangerous in any way, shape or form" Fiona said, casting a look in Allys direction. She grinned, nudging Fiona playfully, who then nudged her back. Ally then nudged Fiona back again, and Fiona done the same.

"Oh that's it Turner, you're going to pay!" Fiona exclaimed jumping up off the bed. In a flash Ally was up and on the other side of the bed. She was standing behind me and Fiona behind Remus. James sat in the middle looking a little startled.

"Go on then Shorts" Ally replied from behind me, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I could see Fiona try very subtly to grab a pillow from my bed. She then threw it, and I ducked and I heard Ally move away.

"You really think I'm going to let that happen again?" Ally asked, almost taunting Fiona. Fiona just grinned and proceeded to jump onto the bed, bounding across it, throwing myself and Remus onto the floor.

"Ow, Fiona that actually hurt you know!" Remus exclaimed from the other side of the bed. I just sat up and watched as Fiona chased Ally round the room at top speed. However it seemed that Fiona was getting bored of not being able to get Ally and ended up throwing a pillow. Unfortunately this managed to hit James, who fell backwards due to the force. I raised an eyebrow at him, but this seemed to provoke him and I ended up being on the receiving end of a pillow. I heard Remus laughing, and so directed the pillow that James had threw at me, in his direction. That shut him up, and I successfully ducked his feeble attempt. I could most definently see a repeat of yesterday occuring. Ah. What the heck. And with that I got up and started hitting James over the head with a pillow.

Like yesterday, the madness continued for a good while. Me, Fiona and Remus against Ally and James. I would have thought we'd have the advantage with Ally's shoulder but I was wrong. Fiona ended up getting hit a lot by Ally and it was all just a load of fun. I stopped for a moment, watching them all. However, Ally looked up to see me just standing there, and threw a pillow in my direction. It sucessfully hit me, and I looked across to see her smiling sweetly at me. At this I threw a pillow at her but she lazily stepped to the right, dodging my pillow. Well, that was a challenge now. I advanced on her, but she just smiled at me, backing away slightly.

"Fiona, Ally hasn't been hit for a while" I said when I passed her. She looked up and grinned, then threw a pillow, but it just landed behind her. Unfortunately, just then James and Remus toppled over, bringing Fiona with them. I stumbled over Fiona but didn't fall and carried on walking forward. However, it was then that their legs caught me and I tripped, falling forward towards Ally. I fell into her, and she began to tumble backwards......

**Review and tell me what you think!!**


	9. Past Memories

**A/N: Voila. Chapter number 9! Indeed, it is much shorter than previous ones but I thought it was about time Ally's past was told and brought out into the open a little. I shall update much quicker seeing as its only a short chapter but enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Allys POV**

As Sirius fell towards me I couldn't help but think back to yesterdays events. However, what I hadn't realised was that someones bed was directly behind me and so when I fell, I collapsed onto the bed. I breathed a sigh of relief, only for me to become extremely embaressed seeing that Sirius was on top of me.

"This is the second time in a few hours that you've ended up on my bed" he said, grinning down at me. I blushed, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. His hands were placed either side of my head, which made it pretty difficult for me to look anywhere else. I heard slight groans coming from the floor and looked up at him quizzically, trying to forget the extremely embaressing position I was in.

"They fell over" Sirius told me, the grin remaining on his face.

"Oh" was all I could think to say, the only thought on my mind being how exceedingly close we were. I saw his eyes leave my own and look at my shoulder. At this, he moved off of me, deciding to lay next to me on his bed. He turned his body towards me, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Did I hurt you?" Sirius asked, a slight frown on his face.

"No, I'm fine" I told him, although he didn't look convinced.

"Really!" I exclaimed, not wanting people to worry about me. He looked sceptical for a moment before giving me the same lopsided smile that he gave me in the hospital wing. I couldn't help but smile back at him, and his own smile widened. A cough coming from the end made Sirius turn his head, and I saw the smile change into a grin. I sat myself up on the bed, and saw Fiona's ruffled head grinning at us.

"Sorry for the interuption" she said very slyly and I felt myself blush.

"Are you okay?" I asked her very quickly, wanting to direct the attention away from myself.

"Fine, just a little ruffled" she said, throwing a pointed look behind her. Shifting my position slightly I was able to see James and Remus still on the floor, making no apparent effort to move. As I was sitting there, I felt the bed move and it seemed Sirius had sat himself up.....right behind me. Fiona rose her eyebrows at me, and gave me a smile which indicated that we would be talking about this later. I just rolled my eyes which in turn made her laugh a little.

"Missing something am I?" I heard Sirius ask from behind me. I jumped at the sound of his voice; I hadn't realised just how close he was. Fiona just shook her head and managed to get herself up off of the floor.

"You look shattered guys" she said, looking round at them. At this, I heard a slight noise from behind me, and turned to see Sirius stifling a yawn.

"And that's our cue to leave" Fiona said grinning, beginning to back out of the room. I began to try and move off of the bed, making contact with Sirius as I done so.

"Sorry" I told him, smiling at him.

"No worries" he said, the lopsided smile on his face as he moved back to give me some room. I managed to heave myself off the bed, as James and Remus dragged themself off the floor.

"Night" me and Fiona said at precisely the same time. At this we both ended up laughing and the boys just rolled their eyes.

"Night" they all said at the same time, which made me and Fiona laugh even more as we moved out of their room, shutting the door behind us.

"Common room?" Fiona asked me, and I nodded along, not feeling tired at all. Although I suspected that had a lot to do with me sleeping all day. Once down there we saw that it was still very full, and I glanced down at my watch to see that it was only half past nine. The chairs in which we had been sitting in earlier were still unoccupied and I collapsed onto the sofa which I had previously been sitting in, Fiona sitting next to me. We sat there in silence for a while, and I was determined not to be the one to break it. I had been sitting there staring at the fire, and looking up now I saw Fiona grinning at me.

"Y-eees?" I asked her slightly hesitantly, dragging out the word.

"Hmmm, I'll get it out of you one way or another you know" was all she said, her grin broadening. I just rolled my eyes at her,

"So was Lily really mad then?" I asked her, turning round to face her properly. She sighed and sunk back in the chair slightly.

"Just a bit, she'll be fine by tomorow I'm sure" Fiona said, although she didn't sound too convinced. It seemed to me that Fiona and Lily had a very up and down friendship, one which seemed to heavily coincide with the Marauders.

"I swear she goes out of her way to dislike them" she said suddenly, now sitting up, looking a little annoyed.

"It's not exactly my fault that we're related! And that James happens to like her! And that I like messing round with them!" she exclaimed quite loudly, scaring a few first years who happened to be sitting close by. I wasn't quite sure what to say but was saved the trouble of thinking by Fiona, again.

"Oh well, she'll just have to learn to live with it, like she has done for the past five years" she said, cheering up immediately. Fiona, it seemed was more or less a constantly happy person. I saw her try and hide a yawn, and I didn't want to be the one to keep her up.

"Tired much?" I asked her, smiling. She just shrugged her shoulders a bit,

"Go to bed then!" I told her and she sighed, before looking at me.

"Not tired yourself?" she queried, eyebrows raised. I had noticed she done this a lot.

"Yeah, most definently, after sleeping all day I'm shattered" I said extremely sarcastically. She laughed, and I smiled myself.

"Point taken, what you guna do then?" Fiona asked, getting up and stretching. I shrugged, thinking of what I could do.

"Catch up, what did I miss?" I asked her eagerly, not wanting to fall behind with lessons. At this Fiona started laughing even more.

"Relax, you really didn't miss a lot! You'll be fine!" she said, waving away my question. I just looked at her and she laughed again.

"Good night" she said, and then she turned and ran like a maniac up the stairs. I sighed and leant back into the sofa, watching the flames of the fire. The common room was still relatively noisy but I managed to block out the noise and think for a bit. This was my third full day at Hogwarts and I already felt so at home. I felt like I had known these people for ages, especially Fiona. I had never really had any friends, and so coming here was like I was finally becoming me. True, I was a fairly quiet person, but then I hadn't really been around anyone else to see the other side of me. At home I wasn't really quiet at all; I could normally be found laughing constantly and acting like an overactive, hyper, strange idiot (well that's what Max had said to me on more than one occassion). And it seemed that being in this environment had the oppertunity to bring this side out of me.

As I sat there thinking about this I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to my parents. Sam and Marie Turner. My dad was english, a surgeon at a hospital close to where we lived in France. He had moved to France at the age of 24 after he had finished medical school. He had been a bit of a brain box, and mum always said I was lucky to apparently have obtained my intellect from that side of the family. Mum was brought up speaking french and spanish, although she also spoke a little english. Hence the reason why I was brought up speaking english and french and little bit of spanish. Dad always loved France, and him and mum met at a club when dad was 25 and mum was 23. They ended up getting married a year later and then a year after that they had me. Dad was a muggle and mum was a pureblood. Mum always used to laugh when she told me that dad had met her mum and dad and figured straight away something wasn't right. He was a bit shocked to say the least. I sat there and smiled to myself as I remembered back to when my parents were still around. But my mind soon took a different path, leading me to that night. It still hurt to think about it, but it was as if my mind was taunting me. The dark night, the storm happening. I had always been a little scared of the thunder and lightening, and my dad always used to amuse me with stories about the Greek Gods, and that it was really just them up there messing with the weather. The thunder roared and I remember seeing the flash of headlights, and then another crash. This sound was different, more a metallic screech. And then the car began to roll. I had blacked out then, and only came round when they were moving me. Thankfully, that had meant that I was out when they sorted out my arm. My left arm now subconciously went to my right, holding it where my scar was. As the car had rolled, the glass of the window where I was sitting had shattered and pierced my arm. I remember waking up and still feeling the searing pain, seeing the large amount of blood on my sleeve. They had had to deal with it right there and then, I had already lost a lot of blood and so they had to take out the shards of glass and sew it up. I closed my eyes as the scenes flashed before me, seeing the faces of the paramedics I had already been introduced to. Dad had moved back to England to work in a hospital over here. I was still in Beauxbatons although my mum was beginning to think about moving me to Hogwarts. Probably why I was here today. He loved working back over here, and most of my holidays were spent here. I don't remember much of the ambulance ride, just Jeff and Alice telling me that everything was going to be okay. They told me mum and dad were on their way to the hospital as well, although they didn't say much else. I should have known then something was wrong. However it wasn't until we arrived in A&E when I saw both mum and dad laying unconcious. I watched as Adam and Charlie took charge, trying to sort my parents out. It was only then that I realised things were bad, extremely bad. Angie was seeing to me, asking me all sorts of questions about my arm, face, foot and my front. I now had a long scar running from my hip up to the middle of my ribs, where the glass had also penetrated on my right hand side. She organised an x-ray and I remember protesting against going. Wanting to stay where I could see my parents. She insisted that they would be taken care of, and that they were all working as best as they could to sort them out. I was wheeled up to get my foot x-rayed, and I remember turning my head in the lift, seeing the massive cut on my left cheek. But I hadn't cared about that right then. After my x-ray Maddie and Joe came to see me. They had been frequent visitors to the house during my holidays, and my dads closest friends at the hospital. They all worked together. They told me that mum and dad had been stabilised and moved to the Intensive Care Unit. I didn't get much sleep those three days after the crash. Everytime I closed my eyes I could hear the screeches, see the blinding lights again. Maddie and Joe stayed with me a lot, I didn't have any other family. They told me that Sarah and Phil had been told and they were going to come as soon as possible. I remember being in complete denial, telling myself over and over again that mum and dad would be okay. It still didn't even register when Connie and Elliot, the big shots of the department, came to see me. The news still didn't hit home then, even when they told me that the machines were the only thing keeping mum and dad alive. I was brought to see them, my ankle still broken meant I had to be wheeled in in a wheel chair. Seeing them laying there, peacefully, side by side made the tears begin to fall. I knew what was coming then, and I said my painful and sobbing goodbyes to them. I winced as I sat in the commom room, remembering it all so clearly. The noise had subsided, but I still wasn't fully aware of my surroundings. Instead my mind carried on replaying the event. I remember feeling Maddie coming up to me, holding my hand, as Connie and Elliot turned the machines off. And that was it. They were gone. I felt a lone tear fall down my face now, the hurt still there, still so real. The next few days were a blur, I wasn't recovering properly and so I was kept in hospital. Although I suspect this had a lot to do with Maddie and Joe wanting to keep an eye on me. They sat with me a lot, tried to get me to open up. But all I could do was lay there, trying to forget everything. The police that had attended the crash came to see me a lot. Dad had known a few of them through working at the hospital and they visited me. Callum, Will and Dale. They were the three that really tried their best to help me. But my mind seemed to only let me think back to the crash. I was in a bad place, and everyone carried on worrying. It was then that they came. Phil and Sarah, but they also brought Max and Sienna. I had thought I was parentless, no family, noone to look after me. And then they came, like a bright light. They told me they had sorted everything out, that I would be living with them. I was allowed to leave the hospital then, but the memories came with me. They left me for a while, and I found myself craving my own company.

However, after a few days of this, Sarah came to me with a photo album. She talked about how it felt for her to lose her two best friends, but she talked about the memories she had made with them around. Sarah told me stories about her and mum, when they had been growing up together. When mum met dad. Things like that, and as she told me she smiled, remembering the good times. This really helped me, and as I grieved, I remembered the good times. When Maddie, Joe, Elliot, Will, Dale and Callum visited, I now asked them about my parents. The side they had seen. The pain numbed a bit, but it was the night Sarah and Phil took me in the garden that really helped. They helped me to sit down, being on crutches was a pain. As I sat there I could remember the conversation clearly;

_'Your mum and dad haven't really gone' Phil said softly from beside me. The mention of my parents made the fire in my heart burn painfully and I allowed the tears to travel down my face._

_'Look up' he said. I done as he said and saw the millions of stars shining down on us, twinkling happily._

_'Both of them are up there' Sarah said quietly, and she pointed out two of the brightest stars._

_'You didn't think they'd leave you completely did you?' she asked me, and I turned to see a weak smile on her face._

_'Whenever you want them, all you have to do is look up at the sky and you'll find them' she said, hugging me. Looking up again, I found the two stars, and it was as if they were watching me. The tears began but they weren't as bad as they had been. They were there, but they were quiet tears, tears of rememberance, and of slight happiness to find my parents again._

I shook my head slightly, and got up to go to the seat next to the window. Looking up, I found mum and dad looking down on me. Slowly, I felt my eyes close, knowing that my parents watching over me.


	10. Birthday Suprises

**A/N: Well here we are! Thought I'd post this today as I'm in a very good mood and very happy so everythings rosy baby! Chapter numero 10 is here. Would like to just very quickly say a big thankyou to those who reviewed including 'sammiegirl', 'Singer07' and 'SnowStorm752'. I hope you all like it. Ooo, just remembered: theres a little french in here. Translations have been done in italics and brackets towards the end of the sentence. Apologies, my french is a little rough since giving it up! And on the note, on with the story......**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately Harry Potter doesn't belong to me**

**Lilys POV**

I woke up and stretched. Looking at the watch that remained on my bedside table I saw that it was 6.45am. The usual time then. I got up and had a quick shower, relishing the hot water. Once out I got dressed and hurried out of the bathroom so Ally could get it. However, walking back into the room I saw no sign of her. Frowning I looked at the time and saw that it was now 7.10am. Hmmm, unusual. I quietly made my way over to her bed, and I opened the pullings slowly, only to see the bed empty. As well as this was a small stack of what seemed to be presents on the end of it. I hurridly made my own bed and went down to the common room to see if I could see her. It was deserted, and I was about to go up to the stupid boys dormitory to see if she had somehow ended up in there when I noticed a figure sitting by the window. I walked cautiously over, only to realise that it was Ally. She was huddled up in a corner, asleep with a slight frown on her face. She must have been extremely uncomfortable and I shook her slightly.

"Ally"

**Allys POV**

I felt someone shaking me and opened my eyes, only to shut them again rapidly. The light was blinding. I sat up slightly and felt pain in my shoulder. I tried opening my eyes again, and allowed them to adjust to the light. Looking round I found myself in the common room, and I remembered back to last night. I then looked towards the person who was now sat beside me. Lily had a slight concerned look on her face as she spoke,

"Are you okay?" I smiled a little, despite the trail of thought my mind had taken last night,

"I'm fine" I told her, lying slightly. In truth, I was never fine after thinking about _those_ things. It would always take me a while to get back to normal. Lily didn't look too convinced but I guess she thought not to push it. Instead, a bright smile lit her face and she enveloped me in a hug.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" she yelled extremely loudly. My eyes widened in suprise and she just looked at me as she leaned back from the hug.

"How did you know?!" I exclaimed. In honesty, I had completely forgotten myself. Birthdays weren't a big deal to me anymore. However, it seemed my subconscience remembered. It had a tendancy to remind me of the crash the night before my birthday.

"The presents on your bed" she told me happily.

"Please Lily, you can't tell anyone" I told her almost pleadingly. I saw her smile fall and she now looked extremely perplexed.

"Why not?" she asked, now looking at me like I was extremely strange.

"Because then everyone will know that I'm only 15" I said in a whisper. I watched as her mouth formed an 'O' shape and she then frowned.

"Seriously Lily, it's no big deal" I told her shrugging, being completely honest.

"But.." she began but I cut her off.

"Lily I really mean it. I don't want people to know. Please" I asked her. She sighed before waving her hands in the air.

"Fine, fine. It is your birthday after all" Lily said, now breaking out into a grin.

"You could have told me though! I haven't got you anything!" she exclaimed. I shook my head.

"Really Lily, it's fine. You don't have to get me anything" I said as I stood up stretching. Man, I ached. Especially my shoulder, wincing as I moved it.

"Right, I think I'd better open the presents before Fiona and Alice wake up" I told Lily, making my way to the stairs. I heard Lily bound after me. Opening the door to the dormitory I saw that thankfully the two girls were still sound asleep. I sat on my bed, and felt Lily do the same. I turned to face her and she shrugged.

"You can't open your presents by yourself" she said, in an exhasperated voice. I gave her a small smile before beginning to open the presents. Looking at the first one I looked at the note attached and saw that it was from Max. Quietly opening the present I found that he had given me a locket. Opening it up I saw on one side a small picture of me, him and Sienna and on the other side a picture of me, mum and dad. I heard Lily move and peer over my shoulder to look at it.

"Wow, thats beautiful!" she exclaimed in a whisper, and I handed it over to her so that she could look at it properly. I turned to the next present, and saw that it was much bigger than Max's. Looking at the tag I saw that it was from Sienna. Ah. The present I was always slightly apprehensive about. I felt it, and sure enough it was soft. Another item of clothing then. I saw Lily put the necklace down out of the corner of my eye and turn to me. As with Max's present, I quietly ripped open the present and found two things. The top most one was navy blue, and shaking it open I saw a plain cardigan, v neck with relatively large buttons. Finally, one thing I could actually wear.

"Ooo, I like that!" Lily said, nodding her head enthustiastically. I passed it over to her so she could look at it properly and picked up the next item. On contact, I found the material to be denim, and shaking it open I found a pair of skinny jeans. Nice. I could also wear this as well.

"They are gorgeous!" Lily said, and like with the cardigan I passed them over to her so she could look at them properly. I turned to get my next present, which was medium sized and hard. Again, I looked at the tag to see that it was from Sarah and Phil. Quietly opening it, I found that it appeared to be a black photo album. Opening it, I flicked through the pages. It was full of pictures; me and my parents, me Max and Sienna, me with Maddie and Joe, me and Callum Will and Dale, Phil and Sarah. A broad smile broke out on my face, I loved it.

"Photo albums are always a good present" Lily said quietly.

"They really are" I told her, putting the album down beside me, making a mental note to look through it properly later. I reached for the next present, seeing that it was from Maddie and Joe. I smiled, finding myself happy that they had remembered my birthday. Again, I opened it quietly to find a beautiful photo frame, containing a picture of the three of us at one of Sarah and Phil's summer partys. It wasn't a magical photo, but I loved it all the same.

"Oh, who's that you're with?" Lily asked, as I passed her the photo.

"Joe and Maddie, they worked with my dad" I explained. She smiled at me. Lily knew about my parents, and I was glad that someone here did (besides Luke of course). Lily proceeded to put the picture on my bedside table and looked at me expectantly, obviously wanting me to open the next present. I smiled at her and turned to grab the next present. The label attached told me that it was from Will, Callum and Dale. I ripped open the present to find another photo frame, this time containing a picture of the four of us. This one was magical (all three were wizards, but for some strange reason all decided to become policemen in the muggle world). The picture was of another party that Sarah and Phil had held, although this one showed the three of them throwing me into the pool. Lily laughed, quite loudly it has to be said.

"That's great! Who are they?" she asked enthustiastically, still laughing albeit much quieter.

"Will, Dale and Callum" I told her, pointing the three of them out.

"Mmm, Will's not too bad now is he?" she asked, grinning. I nudged her in the ribs before I began to laugh myself. Like with my other picture she placed it on my beside table. I now turned to the last present on my bed, and saw that it was from Luke and his family. Opening it, I saw a massive box of chocolates, as well as a simple red polo top. Most obviously courtesy of Lukes 16 year old sister Gabriella.

"Looks like you've recieved a new outfit" Lily said and I turned to find her grinning at me. I smiled back and put the polo top with the cardigan and jeans as I heaved myself up. I winced as the pain in my shoulder returned.

"Guess I'd better go get ready" I told her, making my way to the bathroom.

"I'll wait downstairs for you" she said happily, almost skipping across the room to get her stuff. She then gave me one last, big smile before disappearing through the door.

After another nice, hot shower I felt my shoulder relax a little. It still hurt, but not as much as it had done earlier. I guess falling asleep in the common room didn't help. I got dressed quickly and then thought about what to do with my hair. I decided to curl it loosly, putting into practise the charm Sienna had taught me. After this, I quickly scanned my timetable and grabbed the relevant books before turning and walking quietly out of the room. Approaching the common room I saw both Lily and Remus waiting for me. Both smiled at me as I approached, although Lily's was much, much bigger.

"Morning" Remus greeted me politely.

"Morning" I replied, smiling at him.

"Right, breakfast" Lily said and we wandered out of the common room towards the Great Hall.

It seemed we were a little later to breakfast then usual as it seemed much more packed then usual. We talked about the day ahead as we ate, eventually being joined by Fiona and Alice. After this, James, Sirius, Frank and Peter arrived at the table and Lily opened her mouth to say something but obviously decided against it. It looked like my birthday would be a well held secret. Or so I thought,

"Ally!" I heard someone exclaim, and turning I saw Luke walking towards us, a massive smile on his face. I shook my head frantically at him, and I suspected this earned some curious looks from everyone I was sitting with. However Luke took no notice and kept walking.

"LUKE, NE DIRE RIEN!" I shouted at him in french. _(Luke, say nothing!) _He was now standing right opposite me, behind Fiona and Alice who were watching me, in apparent amazement. He looked at me beweildered, but thankfully carried on the conversation in french.

"Pour qoui?" he asked me, puzzled. (_Why?)_

"Parce-qu'ils ne sait pas" I told him. He still looked puzzled. _(Because they don't know)_

"La chose d'etoile" I further explained. Luke continued to look beweildered and I sighed, annoyed. Gladly he picked up on this and peered at my eyes. Orange then. _(The star thing)_

"Je ne suis pas dix-sept ans et je suis en six ans" I told him. At last. It dawned on him. (_I'm not seventeen and I'm in sixth year)_

"Ahhh, désolé" Luke now said, grinning at me. _(Ahhh, sorry)_. He cleared his throat and now continued our conversation in english.

"I just wanted to know how you're feeling today is all" he said shrugging, a broad grin on his face. I looked to see every single person I was sitting with, look at me with a mixture of shock and amazement on their faces.

"Much better thanks" I said, now turning back to look at him.

"Well in that case, I hope you have a _fantastic_ day" he replied, grinning as if to say 'explain that one' before turning and walking away. I sat there smiling, shaking my head before a voice interupted me.

"Now what, was that all about?!" Fiona exclaimed, looking at me with wide eyes. I decided playing dumb would work best.

"What was all what about?" I asked, although I couldn't help but smile a little.

"You.....speaking french!" she said, as if it was the strangest thing in the world. I shrugged.

"Sometimes I slip into french without realising it" I said, the explanation slipping out extremely easily. I looked round at everyone to see them all still staring at me, apart from Lily who was now trying to cover a laugh by stuffing food in her mouth. It really wasn't working, and seeing her laughing made me burst out laughing.

"What are you two on this morning?!" Alice exclaimed, and I looked up to see her watching us, seriously beweildered. At this point Lily began choking and I whacked her on the back to help. She began spluttering, which made me laugh again, and then made her laugh, and we both ended up laughing hysterically.

"And you say that I'm seriously strange!" Fiona said, shaking her head. Me and Lily carried on laughing, only subsiding when we couldn't breath. The boys had decided to not participate in our earlier conversation and were only now clearing their plates.

"Right, Defense Against the Dark Arts" Lily said, attempting to get up. However she toppled a little, falling on Remus who was sitting next to her. This made me laugh, and she apologised to Remus before getting up again. I followed her lead and the two of us began to walk out of the Great Hall. I could hear footsteps closing in behind us but simply thought that it was the others catching us up. I was therefore suprised by the person it turned out to be.

"Ally, how are you?". I turned to face Will Masters, who was now stood directly behind me. He smiled down at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm fine thanks, how are you?" I returned his question politely.

"Good thanks, hows the shoulder?" he asked me. How did he find out?! I turned to Lily only to see her grin at me and shrug her shoulders.

"He asked" she said simply, and I had a feeling he was told in an attempt to strike up conversation.

"Oh yeah, it's okay"" I told him, turning back to face him.

"Glad to hear it. I'll see you in class later" Will said to me, giving me one last smile before catching up with his friends.

"I wish Will Masters would voluntarily come and ask me how I was" a voice said from behind me. Turning I saw Susan, Alice, Fiona and Lizzy all watching Will's retreating back, a slight dreamy look in their eyes. I just laughed as we carried on walking to our first lesson.

The day passed quickly, and before I knew it I was walking down to dinner with Will. We were almost at the Great Hall when I was approached.

"I was beginning to wonder when I would next see you" came the voice of Caleb Simons. Beside me, Will tensed.

"Masters" Caleb greeted, a grin on his face.

"Simons" Will replied extremely icily. I had the feeling it wasn't just the Marauders and Fiona who didn't like him.

"Well, here I am" I said, trying to ease the tense atmosphere I felt had engulfed the three of us.

"Indeed you are" Caleb said, running his eyes over me. I blushed and Will moved in front of me slightly.

"If you don't mind, Simons" Will said, a slightly threatening edge to his voice.

"I really don't, Masters" Caleb replied, the grin still on his face, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. I gently placed a hand on Will's arm,

"Sorry, we were just on our way to dinner, I'll speak to you later maybe" I said to Caleb. He faltered for a second before replying.

"I'll make sure we do" he said, giving me one last grin before going. I took my hand off of Will's arm and we began walking again, only this time in silence.

"How the hell do you know the scum of the earth?" he burst out rather suddenly. He looked at me, a very serious frown on his face.

"I got lost the other night and he directed me back to the common room" I told him, aware that we had entered the Great Hall. Will stopped, seemingly reluctant to leave it at that. He hesitated before he began walking again, in the direction of the Gryffindor table.

"He's not the nicest of people Ally" he told me as we walked, moving towards Lily, Fiona and the others. As we approached them they all looked up, and immediately smiled. Will handed me my bag and books (both of which he had insisted on carrying).

"Have a good evening" Will said, attempting to smile but it came out as more of a grimace, and he trudged off in the direction of the Ravenclaw table.

"Woah, what did you do to him?" Susan asked me.

"Talked to Caleb Simons" I replied sighing. The effect was instantaneous.

"YOU TALKED TO CALEB SIMONS?" Lily, Susan, Alice and Lizzy exclaimed. Fiona just sat there, a frown on her face.

"Would someone like to tell me why thats such a big deal?" I asked, getting a little annoyed. This must have shown as Fiona just stared at me. The orange colour was back.

"Caleb Simons is just a bastard" Alice replied simply, although there was still a trace of a frown on her face.

"Why's that?" I asked, wanting more information. He must be bad if they all hate him.

"Dates, dumps, makes life hell" Susan said by way of explanation.

"Trust me, I've been there done that" she continued, frowning. I just simply looked at her, now slightly apprehensive.

"I dated him, and it was great. Until he dumped me and then became a complete bastard towards me. Fortunately, I had this lot behind me. He soon backed off" she said, smirking at some memory she had now pictured in her mind. We were all quiet for a moment, the others seemingly lost in thought.

"Would you look at that" Fiona said suddenly, and I turned to see her looking towards the middle of the Great Hall. Following her line of sight I could see Will talking to James and Sirius.

"What's going on there?" Alice asked, somewhat rhetorically.

"I have no idea, something must be up though" Fiona answered her. I frowned, a little confused by it all.

"I'm lost" I admitted, and Alice turned back to me.

"It's extremely unusual to find James and Sirius talk to boys from other houses. Especially when the other boys are on the Quidditch team" Alice explained, before turning back to watching James, Sirius and Will. From what I could see, all three wore frowns, and before I could see anything else they all walked away. James and Sirius sat at the top of the Gryffindor table, where Remus and Frank were sitting. All four soon became immersed in conversation. Alice turned her attention back to dinner and Fiona gave them one last sceptical look before she too turned back around. Clearly something was up.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair and we soon ended up getting up to go. The others had already got up, and it was just Fiona left waiting with me while I fiddled round with my bag, trying to get it to sit in a place where it wouldn't aggrevate my bruised shoulder. As I picked up my books, we began walking out of the Hall until I was stopped.

"Erm excuse me, Ally? Ally Turner?". I looked to see two boys, I guessed in our year, walking up to us. Fiona smiled warmly at the two of them.

"Thats me" I said politely, smiling as well.

"I'm Edward, Edward Davies, and this is Jacob Blithe" he said introducing himself and his friend. Edward had dirty blonde hair, which fell to just above his blue eyes. Jacob was more olive skinned, with dark brown hair and matching eyes. Both were of a similar height, probably about 5"9'.

"Nice to meet you both" I replied, and both of them smiled at me.

"We're both in your Astronomy class, and Professor Grigori said if you could just read the first two chapters of your book and you'll be fine work wise" Edward manage to say all in one breath.

"Thanks for telling me" I told him earnestly, and smiled broadly at him.

"No problem, we'll see you round then" Edward said, and then both him and Jacob turned right in the Entrance Hall when we went left.

"Edward and Jacob are both in Hufflepuff, they're the nice ones" Fiona told me as we began the walk up the many stairs to the common room. I had a feeling she was trying to make a point about Caleb Simons in that sentence. I decided to just nod, and we carried on walking up the stairs in relative silence.

As we walked into the common room the noise hit us. However, it had been noisy every night I had been in here so it didn't seem to make that much difference. Locating Alice and Lily we walked over and joined them at the table Lily was currently working at.

"So have you told Susan and Lizzy about tomorow?" Fiona asked as soon as we were sat down. Lily scribbled something down quickly before she put down her quill and rolled up her piece of parchment.

"Yup, sure have. The only question left is where?" Lily asked, looking round at all three of us. Being new here, I really didn't know a lot and so allowed my mind to wander a little. Instantly I knew I had something that needed to be done and so I dove into my bad and quickly retrieved my quill and a piece of parchment. As soon as I had everything laid out on the table I began to write.

**Phil, Sarah Max y Sienna**

**How are you all? I haven't written to you since I arrived here and thought now would be a good time to start. Also, I thought I might as well write this letter in english seeing as I'm in England at the moment! Thanks to all of you for the presents I got today! Max - the locket is beautiful, and the pictures inside made me smile. Sienna - loved what you got me! Although, now I come onto the topic of clothes, I happened to come across a green, silk dress in my trunk! Care to explain?! It took me ages to try and find something scruffy to put on to quickly take a trip down to the Hospital Wing. Ah. Yes, I have already been there. I'll tell you more further down. Phil, Sarah - the photo album is beautiful. I haven't yet had time to properly look through it though, I plan on doing so this evening. Maddie and Joe got me a picture frame with a photo of the three of us in, and Will, Callum and Dale also got me a photo of the four of us! Luca and family got me a massive box of chocolates and a red polo top (yes Sienna, now I have a whole new outfit!). So my presents this year were great! Thankyou again.**

**Well now, school. School is actually really good. You never told me about Luca! I only found out on my second day! It was a bit of a shock to say the least. Anyways, yeah school is really good. The lessons are okay, and so far I've been okay keeping up. Although I did kind of suprise one of my teachers when I did a non-verbal spell (courtesy of lessons from Max). Everyone here has been really nice to me, helping me out, talking to me. With regards to the Hospital Wing.....Well. I was with Fiona (she's one of the girls in my year and my house) and we kind of ended up having a cushion fight with a few of the boys from my house. Anyways it wasn't actually this that resulted in me injuring myself. Lily (the girl that met me at the train station) scared us all and I fell over the rug, and pulled four other people down with me. Well, more on top of me. So I received a hit on the head and a bruised shoulder. My head was quite bad actually, I felt extremely dizzy and so ended up staying in the Hospital Wing over night, and missing school the next day. But I'm really fine now! Apart from that, all is well!! **

**How is everything in France? I know that Max and Si won't go back to school until the end of September which is why I thought I might as well just write a letter to all of you! **

**Well, I'd better go now and post this letter before curfew! So I hope to hear from you all soon,**

**All my love**

**Ally**

**x**

I put my quill down as I finished my letter and read over it quickly. Happy with it I placed it back on the table and looked up to be slightly suprised. Lily was having a go at James, Fiona was talking to Remus, and Alice, Frank and Sirius appeared to be in conversation. Although looking over at the last group I found that Sirius was now looking at me. He gave me his lop sided smile before turning his attention to James and Lily.

"Evans, give it a rest" he said lazily. Well, this was the wrong thing to say as now Lily looked even more mad.

"Why don't you shut the hell up Black" she snapped, which caused Sirius to grin.

"Lily, can you show me where to post my letter?" I asked her, just as she was about to seemingly shout something else at Sirius again. Thankfully though, she turned her attention to me.

"I'll show you" James said happily, now heaving himself out of the chair opposite Lily.

"She wasn't talking to you Potter" Lily now snapped at James. I'm seeing a pattern here.

"It's fine Lily, especially if you have homework to finish" I said, gesturing to her work in front of her. I really didn't care if it was James or Lily who came, either of them would mean they couldn't argue.

"Right lets go. I'll talk to you when I get back Evans" James said, flashing a grin Lilys way. I saw Lily's eyes blaze and thought it would be best to leave now.

"Fiona, Sirius, coming?" I asked, now remembering that Sirius and Lily didn't get on. They both nodded and got up and it looked like Lily was about to further protest. I quickly grabbed James' arm and dragged him out of the common room, grabbing my letter off the table as I done so.

Once in the corridor I let go of James and waited for the other two to appear.

"Quick thinking" Fiona remarked as she and Sirius joined us. I just shrugged my shoulders as I began walking down the corridor. It didn't take me long to realise I was on my own and I stopped and turned around, just in time to see James, Fiona and Sirius burst out laughing. Fiona just pointed in the opposite direction I had been walking in.

"Well...how was I supposed to know?!" I exclaimed, coming to stand next to them. They all just shook their head and began walking, me trailing behind.

The walk up to the owlery didn't take too long, and I managed to send my letter off without the other three mocking me any more. I watched as the owl I had used flew off into the distance. I hadn't realised just how big Hogwarts was until I had come up here. The view from the tower was absoloutly beautiful, but admittedly quite cold. Soon enough I found myself walking back to the common room, walking just infront of the two boys.

"Today really must be my lucky day". I looked up to see Caleb sauntering towards us. I smiled at him (being the polite person I am), Fiona frowned.

"Do you want something?" she snapped at him. I looked at her, slightly suprised. I hadn't seen Fiona snap like that. I'm pretty sure even Lily didn't get that when they argued.

"Relax, Shorts. I wasn't talking to you" he smirked. Caleb then turned his attention back to me eyes moving over me, and opened his mouth to say something until he was beaten to it.

"Simons" James and Sirius greeted icily from directly behind me. I could feel the warmth radiating off of them as Caleb acknowledged their presence.

"Potter, Black" he said, the smirk remaining on his face.

"If you don't mind-" Caleb began to say, but was quickly cut off.

"We do mind" came the voice of James, slightly to my left.

"A lot" Sirius finished, from directly behind me. This, however seemed to have no effect on Caleb and he was now beginning to look extremely annoyed.

"I don't think it's any of your business" he said, and within that sentence I could hear the anger beginning to come through. Sirius growled from behind me (yes, actually growled), which startled me immensely. I spun round only to find myself looking at his chest. I took a step backwards and was able to see just how close behind me he was.

"Really, it's fine" I managed to get out, casting alternate looks between James and Sirius. I heard footsteps behind me and in the next minute I felt a hand at my waist. What the hell?

"You see" I heard Caleb say, and I could tell there was a smirk on his face.

".." Sirius said through clenched teeth. He looked extremely, extremely angry. I was beginning to get a little annoyed myself and I moved away from Caleb towards Sirius, James and Fiona. I was pretty sure my eyes were a burning orange and so couldn't take the chance to turn round and look at Caleb. Breath in. Breath out. I couldn't afford to lose my temper. Especially now. Breath in. Breath out. I closed my eyes which helped me to focus a little better. Who the hell did Caleb Simons think he was?! Okay, so that wasn't the best thing to think. Breath in. Breath out. I could feel my body heat up and I really, really didn't need this. One of my biggest secrets. Being an Etoileige came with its extreme downsides. Yeah, eye colour change was unusual. But not as unusal as the whole 'shape shifting' thing. Me losing my temper would result in me changing my form. If you told someone that an Etoilegie has the ability to change their shape, you'd immediately think 'star'. But then you'd be wrong. The shape can take the fom of any nocturnal creature around. However, this shape isn't seen until around 11, and both of my parents were anxious to see what mine was. My mum took the form of a fox. So given that, everyone thought it would be a fox, or something closely related. Well, you can imagine their suprise when instead of an 11 year old child in front of them there was a black panther. My mum almost fainted and my dad, well, shocked would be an understatement. To be honest, I don't see why they didn't see something unsual coming. I'm the only known Etoileige who's eyes change colour dependant on emotion. Oh well. Max and Sienna always loved it when I would change, and it was something that I was beginning to learn how to control.

But anyway, back to the point in hand. There I was trying to control the breathing. In all honesty, it had more shocked me then angered me. It wasn't a gesture of help, or niceness (as Sirius' had been when trying to get me to and from the Hospital Wing safely) it was more a gesture of.......possession. What suprised me the most was Sirius' response to the situation. The forced and deliberate reply was almost as if he was strongly trying to restrain himself from lunging at Caleb. I suspect that me standing in the way had a little to do with it. I was now standing directly infront of Sirius, and so had a better view on any actions he was about to take. Instead, I thought I would take matters into my own hands. I slapped a grin on my face and turned to face Caleb. Looking at me, he grinned back at me, although it looked a little slimy now. I took a deliberate step towards him, and his grin broadened. I knew now what I was going to do and so stepped forward again so that I was almost touching him. I could see his hand twitch and so leaned in towards him,

"Touch me again and I swear I will curse you into oblivion" I whispered in his ear. I then took a step back before I forgot something.

"Almost forgot" I said sweetly taking in his very confused expression.....

**Sirius' POV**

I watched in confusion and complete shock as Ally whispered something into Simons ear. His face dropped immediately, and he now looked really quite angry. I literally rose my wand as Ally spoke.

"Almost forgot" she said, in a seemingly very innocent voice. WHACK. I dropped my arm in complete shock. She punched him. Ally Turner punched Caleb Simons in the eye. Caleb looked as shocked as I did and he muttered a few words under his breath before more or less running off. She didn't turn round until his footsteps had faded away, which is when she faced us.

"OWWWWWWWWW" she exclaimed, cradeling her hand. None of us moved, we were still too shocked.

"Oh Merlins Pants that hurt!" Ally carried on, almost shouting. Fiona recovered first.

"Ally, you......you just punched him!" she said in shock, going over to see Ally. This woke me and James up and we both roared with laughter.

**Fiona's POV**

Oh great. The boys were laughing hysterically, Ally was in pain, and I was still in shock.

"He deserved it!" Ally exclaimed, now examining her hand. I went to look at it and she took a step away.

"Of course he bludy did! I just didn't expect _you_ to do it!" James exclaimed in between laughing. Ally was now hopping up and down on the spot, obviously in pain.

"Why didn't Max or Luke ever tell me it hurt to punch someone?!" she exclaimed more to herself than anyone else.

"Hospital Wing again then" I said sighing, pushing Ally in the right direction as the boys trailed behind us, still laughing.

Fortunately, we were relatively close to the Hospital Wing so it wasn't too much of a walk.

"When your hands better, we'll teach you how to punch properly" James was telling Ally, almost proudly.

"But why didn't you just use your wand?!" I exclaimed, thinking that this would have been the most obvious response. I saw Ally frown a little.

"I didn't really think about it" she said shrugging. I just rolled my eyes, and she grinned at me. We were nearly there when she spoke again,

"What am I supposed to tell Madam Pomfrey?!" she exclaimed, coming to an abrupt stop. This meant that I walked straight into her and we both nearly toppled over.

"That you punched a bastard in the eye?" Sirius suggested, a broad grin on his face. Ally just rolled her eyes and turned towards me. I shrugged,

"You fell?" was all I could think to suggest and I saw her think about it. She then turned and walked quickly into the ward, me Sirius and James all following her.

"Back again, Miss Turner?" I heard Madam Pomfrey ask. Entering properly I could see Ally smile sheepishly at her before taking a seat on the bed.

"Yeah, erm, I kind of tripped up the stairs and landed hand first" she said, lifting her hand up. Wow. She actually used my really rubbish lie. And seemingly managed to pull it off. Madam Pomfrey frowned, touching Ally's hand while she winced. Well, she wouldn't be in pain for much longer, one tap and it should be healed.

"I don't think it's broken, just a fracture" she said still frowning. She then got out her wand, but instead of directing it at Ally's hand she pointed to the Hospital doors and I watched as a bird flew out of the tip and out of the Hospital Wing. A patronous?! What for?! I looked quizzicaly at Ally who just shrugged.

"Right you three, if you'd like to give Miss Turner some space. She will be joining you shortly" Madam Pomfrey said, now bustling towards us. She shooed us out of the Hospital Wing and into the deserted corridor.

"What the hell is going on?" Sirius asked, looking at both me and James with a frown on his face. Both me and James shrugged as we turned and headed up to the common room.

**Allys POV**

I knew why Madam Pomfrey got rid of the three of them. but I still shrugged when Fiona looked at me puzzled. I sighed and leaned back onto the bed, still cradeling my hand. Madam Pomfrey came back over and examined my hand again, muttering things along the lines of 'so easy to heal' over and over again. It wasn't my fault was it?! If anyone, you could blame my mum for handing all this down to me. Arghhh, stupid hand. And on my birthday as well.

It was about 15 minutes later when the doors of the Hospital Wing opened again and I was shocked to say the least. In came Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Ford, as well as another man who I didn't recognise.

"Ahh Miss Turner" Professor Dumbledore said as he approached me, although there was a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. I smiled sheepishly at him and he took a seat on one of the chairs.

"This is , Professor Fords brother. As you may have already guessed by my introduction, he is indeed a doctor" Professor Dumbledore said, and both Professor Ford and smiled at me. now came over to me and gently took my injured hand. He then began to softly touch my hand all along until he hit the sore area when I tugged my hand away.

"You've fractured a few of your bones, so I'll probably need to put it in a cast" he said, looking at me and then Professor Dumbledore. I groaned, please not a cast.

"You don't have to put it in a cast though do you? You could dress it and then put it in a splint right?" I asked him. I saw his eyes widen a little before a massive smile broke out on his face.

"Now, how would you know something like that Miss Turner?" he asked me. I smiled back.

"My dad was a doctor" I said by way of explanation.

"Would that be possible?" Professor McGonagall asked, speaking for the first time. She had a small frown on her face and I could tell she didn't really understand what was going on.

"It most certainly is" answered before he began to rummage around in his bag.

"A little space maybe then. Tea anybody?" Professor Dumbledore said as he got up and began making his way to Madam Pomfrey's office. The rest of the staff followed leaving me with . He was much older than Professor Ford. I estimated him to be in his late fourties, although he was still very good looking. He had wavy brown hair and the same green eyes as his brother.

"So, Miss Turner, how exactly did you do this?" he asked, now turning back to me, cleaning equipment in his hand. I swallowed uneasily, trying to block out any fear of pain. Instead I concentrated on his question.

"Erm, I fell up the stairs" I said, a little uneasily. I tried my best to just look ahead, and focus on the dark nights sky outside rather than my hand.

"Are you sure about that? Because it sure looks a lot like a punching wound" he said, and I looked towards him to see him grinning while he was working.

"Umm..." I said trailing off, a small smile on my face.

"Well, erm, yes okay, but please don't tell the teachers" I said quickly, and he looked up, the grin still on his face.

"Who did you hit and why?" asked with a sigh, although I could see he was still grinning.

"Oh, just a boy, he wasn't very nice" I said slightly quietly. However, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered it.

"And this is your fourth day here?" he asked, although he now seemed very suprised.

"Yes it is" I answered him, and he chuckled a little. I winced as he wiped over the area. I cast a quick glance down to see that it was now looking very swollen and slightly bruised. Wow. I have matching bruises. Okay, not the time or the place.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but, why did you decide to become a doctor?" I asked him, very intrigued. I had asked Will, Callum and Dale why the took jobs in the muggle world but they were slightly tipsy when I asked them, so their answers were not serious.

"Of course I don't mind. Well after I left school I thought I wanted to become a healer. And so I trained for this and when I completed it I worked for a year before I realised that I wanted to do something more. Going into the muggle side of medicine just kind of made sense for me I guess" he began to tell me as he worked on my hand.

"It took a long time for me to do, naturally. But I felt like I was doing something worth while. When I graduated, I found I could use my magic to try and help people. Although I try not to do it all the time" he finished, looking up at me grinning. By this time my hand had been bandaged rather tightly and he was now laying out a pair of splints.

"Right, I'm afraid that this will hurt" he said, now repositioning my hand to best suit him.

"But if I don't get the positioning and the strength right you might end up with a bit of a dodgey hand. Of course I will try my upmost best not to do so" finished with a grin and a wink. I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"Right, I'm going to do it now" he said and I felt him place one splint underneath my hand and the other on top. He then took my hand and flattened it out. I screwed my eyes up in pain but kept my mouth firmly shut. That really hurt. Okay, getting worse. I felt him very quickly get the taping out and he was deftly and quickly wrapping it up, very, very tightly.

"Done" he said proudly, and I opened my eyes relieved.

"Now for the sling" he said and I groaned. I had hoped that maybe he wouldn't put it on. Deep down, I knew there was never a chance of that happening.

"Not a fan?" he asked grinning at me. I shrugged.

"In a normal situation I wouldn't complain. However, when people don't know that you can't be treated magically, it kind of produces a few problems" I explained with a small sigh. nodded as he understood what I was referring to.

"Lean forward for me" he said, placing the sling round my neck.

"I can see what you mean. But, I guess you're friends would have found out some time wouldn't they?" he asked me, now tying it up.

"I guess so, but I haven't been here long and I wanted to settle in first. Let people get to know me just as Ally, not as Ally the Etoileige" I said quietly. In truth, the words I had just spoken made me feel like a bit of a circus act.

"I'm sure they'll look a little deeper. If they don't, well they can't be real friends" said gently. I looked up and gave him a weak smile before I heard the office doors open and the other Professors coming back over.

"Nicely done" Professor Ford said, congratulating his brother. just smiled and shrugged,

"All in a days work" he said, smiling at me.

"Thank you very much" I told him sincerely. I think he understood I didn't mean just him mending my hand.

"I think this will put you out of writing action then Miss Turner" Professor Dumbledore said, and I have him a weak smile.

"I just need to give Miss Turner one more thing before I go" said suddenly turning towards me. Uh-oh. I didn't like the sound of that. He walked towards me and I saw in his hand an injection. Oh please no. must have seen the panic in my eyes (quite literally) as he smiled reassuringly.

"It'll help you. It's just a pain killer. Although you will most probably feel extremely tired in about half an hour" he said consulting his watch. I sighed and closed my eyes as I felt the sharp sting of the needle insert into my arm.

"Done" he said and I opened my eyes, giving him a quick smile before he backed away.

"Right, take it easy. No falling up any more stairs okay?" he asked me, mock sternly. I smiled sheepishly, knowing he wasn't referring to any stairs.

"You have my word " I said politely and he grinned at me.

"Right, I need a quick word with you before you go Miss Turner" Professor Dumbledore said quietly. He sat himself down on the chair and I turned to face his the rest of the teachers and departed.

"About your shape shifting. I've been informed that your control over this is extremely well handled for someone as young as yourself. However, I would very much like it if you came up to see me, only once every month to just make sure everythings okay. Of course, I'm sure you will relish the oppertunity to allow the change to happen voluntarily" he told me, a smile on his face.

"If you ever feel that you are losing the ability to take control of it, I encourage you to not hesitate to come to me" Professor Dumbledore continued, in a more serious voice.

"Of course Professor" I replied, feeling a little drowsy. He chuckled a little.

"Well now, I shall let you go and get your rest. I do think, that maybe it would be neccessary to inform a few people about yourself in a little more detail" he concluded. I knew he was telling me that the others should know about the Etoileige thing but I didn't think I'd be able to stay awake to tell the the whole long story tonight.

"Perhaps tomorow night would be best" Professor Dumbledore continued and he stood, motioning for me to copy his actions.

"Have a good nights rest Miss Turner" he said dismissing me as he turned and walked in the opposite direction to me. I yawned as I began the walk up the many stairs, feeling my hand throbbing. I tried to recall the way Sirius had taken me, knowing that I couldn't afford to get lost when the painkiller was kicking in so efficiently. Thankfully I made it up to the common room and on entering found the people I was looking for. Walking over I saw them look up at me in shock.

"Woah, what did they do to your hand?!" Fiona exclaimed, eyes wide. I saw Lily smile at me, and I returned it weakly, now feeling extremely tired.

"Why don't you sit down Ally?" Lily said, motionning to the seat next to her. Obviously Fiona had told her I was in the Hospital Wing. I shook my head.

"If I sit down, I'll fall asleep" I told her. She looked a little concerned at this. It was then that the boys came over, standing opposite me.

"What the hell have they done to your hand?!" James exclaimed, sounding a lot like Fiona. They most obviously knew little about the muggle world.

"It's helping my hand to mend" I replied, feeling very drowsy.

"Why didn't Madam Pomfrey just fix it with her wand straight away?" Fiona asked, a frown on her face as she took in the sling and my hand.

"I can't explain that to you tonight. gave me a pain killer but the side effect is tiredness which I'm afraid to say is kicking in. My hand is throbbing and I'm going to go to bed. But I promise I'll explain everything to you tomorow morning" I managed to say without anyone interupting me. Alice, Fiona, Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Frank all looked at me curiously.

"Are you sure Ally?" Lily asked me, and I knew she was referring to me telling them about myself being an Etoileige. I nodded my head.

"Professor Dumbledore advised me to" I told her.

"Good night" I told them all and began walking up the stairs, hearing no protests from behind me.

I got undressed somewhat awkwardly after taking the sling off. I knew it would not be required for me to wear it in bed but even so, it was extremely difficult trying to get undressed. In the end I gave up trying to get my shirt off and so just put on my pyjama trousers and got into bed. As I lay there I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was my fourth day at Hogwarts, my birthday, and I had already made two trips to the Hospital Wing. This year was sure going to be interesting, was my last thought as I fell into a deep and suprisingly comfortable sleep.


	11. Things Heat Up

**A/N: Bah-ba-da-baaah! Chapter 11 is here people. Thank you very much to 'Midnight LeAnn', 'HPLUVR71495' and 'Lucy-is-Great' for reviewing, tis much appreciated. And to those people who have added the story to their favourites etc.. School work has died down which has made me a tad suspicious but I've had a little more time than usual to write. Hopefully the next update will come a little sooner than this one but ya never know! Anyways enough of my rambling, on with the story, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** **I own nothing of Harry Potter**

**Allys POV**

My body clock woke me up naturally at seven. I sat up in bed and stretched, feeling the splint tighten during the action. Having it all wrapped up I couldn't see the state of it, but I can't say I really minded too much. I heaved myself out of bed and saw Lily turn to smile at me.

"Morning" she said brightly in a whisper. I smiled back at her as I moved off of the bed, awkwardly trying to make it.

"Oh, I'll do that for you" she said hurridly, waving her wand in the direction of my bed. Instantly it was made and I turned to her.

"Thanks" I said to her, really meaning it.

"Fell asleep before you could get changed I see?" she now said, grinning. I blushed a little before replying,

"I kind of gave up trying to get it off" I admitted, very quietly.

"Do you need a hand?" Lily asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"I think I'll be okay today. Just need to get my left hand into practise" I said, smiling up at her.

"Okay, well if you need a hand I'll be downstairs" she said quietly, before leaving the room. I then gathered up my school uniform before heading into the bathroom.

It took me ages to get dressed and I acknowledged defeat with the tie. Instead I left it off, putting my jumper on. I then put my sling on, knowing it would be much harder to have the sling on with the school robes. Although, I had successfully managed to get my shirt off and put a clean one on, something that slightly brightened up my day. I picked up my school bag with my left hand, but couldn't actually put it on due to the sling and my bruised shoulder. I was a walking disaster. I quietly walked down the stairs to find both Lily and Remus sitting in chairs by the stairs.

"Morning" Remus said brightly.

"Morning" I grumbled, knowing today would not be a great day at all.

"Let me take your bag" Lily said, standing up to get it for me.

"Thanks" I replied as I began to make my way down to breakfast.

Approaching the Great Hall I could see that breakfast was somewhat well underway. It had been a relatively quiet walk down to the Great Hall, and I knew that Remus was waiting for me to tell him about my hand and certain other things. However we literally just sat down at the Gryffindor table when an Italian voice came across the room.

"What the hell have you done to yourself now?!" I looked up to see Luke storming towards me, complete and utter disbelief etched on his face. I sighed as he didn't stop but took a seat next to Lily, who was positively beaming by this point.

"It's all your fault you know. You never taught me how to punch properly" I said, watching as his eyes widened at my words.

"PUNCH?!" he said extremely loudly, causing several heads to turn.

"I punched Caleb Simons in the eye" I told him, getting it out of the way quickly.

"Bludy good punch too, have you seen his eye this morning?!" I heard a voice form behind me exclaim. I turned to see Will standing there, a broad grin on his face. However, this soon disappeared when he saw my hand.

"Why the hell is it in a sling?!" he asked me, slightly shocked. I sighed again and leaned my bruised shouldered arm on the shoulder so I could hold my head in my hand.

"It's not mended properly yet" was all I said. I picked my head up to see Will frowning at me. He looked at Luke who gave him a slightly threatening look,

"Oh right, well I'll speak to you later. Well done on punching him" he added very quietly at the end, although I'm pretty sure Luke heard. At this he disappeared back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Explain" Luke demanded, ignoring both Lily and Remus who were watching the two of us with slight smiles on their faces.

"I bumped into him in the corridor a few nights ago and he directed me back to the common room. Being the polite person that I am I smile at him if I see him, which I've been told I shouldn't do" I began, saying this all very quickly. Luke was nodding in agreement to the last part of my sentence.

"Anyways so I bumped into him last night and then it looked like things might have got a bit heated between him, Sirius and James. So I told the latter two that it was okay and then Caleb put his hand on my waist which startled me, and made me slightly annoyed. So then I decided to punch him" I said shrugging. All three of them looked at me in disbelief, but it was Luke who spoke first.

"Why on earth didn't you use your wand?!" he exclaimed, lifting his hand up and gesturing round with it. He always done that when he was infuriated by something, or didn't understand something. Again, I just shrugged, as I awkwardly began eating with my left hand.

"That's exactly what I said to her" Fiona said as her and Alice took a seat next to me.

"Need a hand with the tie?" Fiona now asked turning towards me, a grin on her face. I looked down to see it still slung across my shoulders.

"Please" I said and she leaned forward and done my tie up for me, shoving it inside my jumper when she was done. She then proceeded to eat her breakfast, as if it was an every day occurance that someone had their hand in a sling and needed help with their school tie.

"Sarah is going to flip" Luke said, only now he was grinning. I groaned. I could see the words on the paper now. Fantastic.

"Right, I'll be keeping my eye on you. Jeez. Four days Ally. Four" he said shaking his head as he got up and left the table, heading for the Ravenclaw table.

"That could have been worse" I said, more to myself than anything. As I said this, James, Sirius and Frank sat themselves down at the table with us. Lily scowled but said nothing, instead choosing to just cross her arms. About 10 seconds later Susan and Lizzy drifted over, sitting themselves down at the table as well.

"What the hell happened?!" they both exclaimed at exactly the same time.

"She punched Caleb Simons in the eye" Fiona said happily. Susan looked shocked but Lizzy looked thoughtful.

"You done a good job. He's got a massive black eye" she said looking at me, a broad smile on her face. I couldn't help but return it as everyone else tucked in. However Susan was still watching me.

"But why is you hand still like that?" she said, motioning to the sling, bandages and splint. At this, every single person looked up at me, and I sighed, getting ready to tell my story.

"I guess you all want to know huh" I said looking round at them. They all nodded, a mixture of curious smiles and frowns. I felt extremely uncomfortable, but knew that it had to be done. I looked up to the staff table and saw Professor Dumbledore give a small nod of his head, as if encouraging me on.

"I haven't told you a lot about myself. Especially one thing. One thing that I've kept from you because I didn't want it to effect your judgement of me" I began slowly. All of the faces now turned to frowns but nobody said anything.

"Straight to the point, I'm whats known as an Etoileige. The whole eye colour changing thing that I told you? Thats true. But they change because of what I am. Nobody quite knows why. But that's just the way things are" I said shrugging. I looked up at Lily and saw her smile at me reassuringly.

"My mum was an Etoileige. It gets handed down in the family. You can only be an Etoileige if you're a girl though" I carried on explaining, seeing I had everybodys startled attention.

"Etoileige roughly means people of the stars. The name comes from our ability to....glow". I very reluctantly said the word, my mind being unable to come up with any other word.

"When a very strong emotion overtakes the body, a glow is emitted. Normally its linked to pure happiness" I continued on. Now I was in the flow of things I decided to go the whole way.

"Being an Etoileige gives me special abilities as well as a different temperature. Namely intellect, speed and another one. None of you apart from Alice have seen the speed side of things" I said, now turning to said person. Her eyes widened and I knew she knew what I was talking about.

"That day with Fiona chasing us?" she asked, apparently very shocked. I nodded my head and she merely just gaped at me. I turned back to the others to see them all looking slightly confused.

"It's better if I show you, along with another one" I said slowly, thinking things through in my mind. Speed would be much better illustrated by show, as well as the shape shifting. Although, I would probably have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about that one. Hmm. I would speak to him in one of my frees. Oh. Almost forgot about my hand. I guess that one would have to wait. I looked up to see everyone still looking at me and I smiled sheepishly at them.

"You didn't say anything about temperature" the quiet voice of Remus said. I turned to see him, a small frown on his face. I sighed and reached out my good hand to him. He looked at it a little puzzled.

"Feel it" I said and I watched him as he slowly reached out and took my hand. His eyes widened and I could see he now knew what I meant.

"My body runs two degrees hotter than normal. Specifically 39°C" I explained. They all looked shocked and Remus dropped my hand. I felt a little awkward sitting there, the rest of them still staring at me.

"Do you have to stare at her?! She's not a circus show!" Lily exclaimed, frown on her face. Everyone snapped out of it then and began eating their breakfast in complete silence.

"Its a lot of information to digest I know, sorry for not telling you sooner" I said, beginning to get up. Eight pairs of eyes followed me, but Lily also got up.

"You don't need to apologise" I heard Remus say. And I turned to see a small smile lighting up his face.

"We don't think any differently of you at all, do we?" he said, now turning round to the others. They all shook their heads in agreement, James and Sirius looking at him thoughtfully.

"Thanks" was all I could think to say to them. I couldn't believe they had accepted it that easily. I thought it would take a while to sink in, yet here they were telling me that it made no difference to them.

"So when are we going to see this speed thing?" Fiona asked, somewhat excitedly.

"This afternoon?" Susan contributed eagerly.

"Erm, yeah okay then" I replied, a little hesitantly admittedly. Boy, were they in for a shock.

The rest of the day flew past, and before I knew it we had finished our last lesson of the day. In truth, the day had been a bad one for me. The sling meant that I kept getting weird looks in the corridors, I couldn't write, and I couldn't use my wand. However, I was determined to try it out with my left hand, I just needed a quiet place to practise

"Now we have tonight to look forward to!" Fiona said happily, skipping along ahead of us. She then stopped and turned to face me, Lily and Alice (Susan and Lizzy had disappeared to their common rooms to dump their stuff off).

"When you guna show us Ally? I really wana see" she began to moan. Fiona had been asking me all day, and I was extremely suprised by her eagerness to see it.

"Now?" I asked her and she beamed.

"Well, lets go down to the Entrance Hall and get Susan and Lizzy first, if thats okay with you?" Lily asked, turning towards me. I nodded my head, it would be much easier if I could just show them all at once. We trudged down the stairs but couldn't see them their yet. Glancing down at my watch I saw that it was only 5 o'clock which meant that we had a while before dinner.

"So where are we having the sleepover tonight?" I asked curiously, remembering how I had zoned out during that conversation.

"North tower" Lily replied simply. I turned to look at her, a slight frown on my face. North tower?! Wouldn't that be cold? And wouldn't we be found?!

"Thats the usual place. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. Besides, we won't get caught or anything. If there was a chance of that, Lily wouldn't have suggested it" Fiona told me, poking her tongue out at Lily who returned the gesture. Alice just rolled her eyes, although there was a smile on her face as she done so. We hadn't been waiting there long when Susan appeared from behind us and Lizzy appeared infront of us.

"Ready?!" Fiona said excitedly. I just nodded my head, giving her a small smile. We began to walk outside, and I could feel the fresh, cold air stinging my cheeks. We hadn't been walking very far when we bumped into the Marauders.

"And where are you six off to then?" James asked, hand flying to his hair as he grinned at Lily.

"Ally's going to show us now" Fiona said excitedly. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her enthusiasm and I looked up to see Sirius raise an eyebrow.

"Great, where we off to then?" James replied now looking at me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lily open her mouth to protest and decided to save the argument.

"It's fine Lily, really" I told her earnestly and she just frowned as we carried on walking. We made our way over to the lake and I decided this might as well suffice.

"Okay, here will be fine" I said to them all and they all stopped to turn round and look at me.

"Right, I'll carry on walking over to where the tree is" I said pointing to a low tree roughly 50 metres away. I grinned to myself as I thought of a way to further emphasise my point.

"How long do you reckon it'll take for me to get from the tree to where we're standing now?" I asked them and I could see them all frown.

"Running at a sprint?" James queried and I nodded my head.

"10, 15 seconds" he guessed and I grinned.

"Okay" I said before I began making my way over there. However I stopped abruptly after a few paces.

"Could you hold this for me Lily?" I asked taking my sling off. She frowned, obviously thinking it wasn't a good idea but I shoved it in her hands before walking. I decided to keep my pace steady walking over there, taking careful control of it. Nonetheless, as soon as I hit the tree I took one deep breath and ran. It was so nice to just let it go, not trying to be careful about my speed. I came to an abrupt stop right in front of James....in approximately 2 seconds. His eyes widened as he took a step backwards.

"I made that to be about 2 seconds" Lily volunteered, a smug look on her face. I shifted a little uneasily on my feet, waiting for someone else to say something.

"That was bludy amazing" James exclaimed, after a few seconds silence.

As we walked back up to the castle the others all asked me questions about it, only a few of which I was actually able to answer. They asked me to run a few times before Lily told them to quit making me act like a monkey and made me put my sling back on, scowling whilst I done so.

"It's for your own good" she said in a sing song voice. She then started laughing at my expression and skipped off to talk to Alice and Susan who were slightly ahead of us.

"How's the hand today?" I heard Sirius say from behind me and I turned to see him fall into step beside me. I frowned,

"It hurts a little" I admitted, attempting a shrug but failing to do so properly. I shivered a little in the fresh air and noticed that Sirius was only in his school shirt.

"Aren't you cold like that?" I asked him, the frown still on my face. He turned to me, smiling,

"Nope, it's not really that cold out". He looked down at me, and I think he could see the slight shivering motion.

"The whole temperature thing" I explained, seemingly correctly interpreting his silence.

"Oh" was all he said as we carried on walking. I could see him open his mouth to say something and then shut it again. I smiled a little to myself, wondering what it was that was stopping him.

"May I?" Sirius asked suddenly, stopping walking. I too stopped, and I had a feeling I knew what he meant. He looked down and saw that he was standing ony my right hand side, the side with the dodgey hand and so he moved round behind me to stand on my left hand side. I didn't respond to his question verbally, instead choosing to extend my hand. He hesitated before very gently taking my hand in his own. I felt a slight shock go through me at the initial contact and looked up at him. I saw a slight frown on his face as he looked down at our two hands. The contact of his slightly cold hand on my own very warm hand must have startled him (as it did so many other people) and he slowly began to softly move his thumb over my skin. It was a soothing motion and he moved his eyes from our hands to my eyes. I noticed that his eyes were a very light grey today, with a slight blue tinge to them. He gave me the lopsided smile before he spoke,

"I thought you said you were cold?". His reaction startled me a little, this wasn't something I expected him to say. I couldn't help but laugh a little by his words, and I could see his smile broaden.

"I am a bit" I replied, a smile on my own face now. I was very aware of the fact that we were still holding hands, as we carried on walking up to the castle.

"You said your normal temperature is 39°C right?" Sirius asked after a few moments silence.

"Yup, thats right" I confirmed. He nodded his head but didn't say anything else as we came closer to the castle. Once we could see the others waiting for us Sirius slowed his walking. I heard him sigh audiably, giving my hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. I hadn't realised that he had been keeping my hand warm until he had let it go, when I felt the cold air hit it again. We walked up to the others in silence, and I noticed how both Fiona and Lizzy had been watching us. However, I didn't quite have time to think about this as Professor Ford had been walking towards us.

"Miss Turner" he began, smiling. All the girls instantly turned to him and smiled and I could faintly hear a sigh of exhasperation come from the direction of the boys.

"See you later" Remus said quietly, and I turned to smile at him as the boys disappeared, all shaking their heads.

"Yes Professor?" I asked politely, turning my attention back to him.

"If you could come to the Hospital Wing after dinner" he said. I couldn't help but sigh a little at what he said though, feeling that it couldn't be something very good.

"Of course sir" I replied politely, a little sullenly admittedly. He gave me one last smile before disappearing up the stairs.

"Hand?" Fiona asked, still watching his retreating figure.

"I'm guessing so" I said with a shrug. I turned to the girls to see them all still staring after him.

"You know, I almost prefer the back half of him to the front" Susan said, before breaking out into giggles. I shook my head slightly, but there was a smile on my face.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. I asked Mandy if she wanted to come tonight. She's kinda on her own after Jess left. That's not a problem is it?" Susan asked, looking round at everyone. All the others shook their heads smiling, I just stood there not knowing who Mandy was at all.

"Course not! Right shall we go get our stuff and shove it in the tower before dinner?" Alice asked, an excited tone to her voice.

"Sounds like a plan, meet you guys up there" Lizzy said, dashing off down the corridor, bypassing the Great Hall. The rest of us began the walk up the stairs and I wondered what I was needed for in the Hospital Wing.

We quickly got up to the common room and dashed upstairs to get our stuff. I didn't know what to bring with me, not that I would have done so well packing it or anything. I watched as the other girls simply got their pyjamas and took their duvets off the bed piling them on the floor.

"Here, I'll give you a hand" Lily said helpfully, jumping over the pile in the middle of the room to get my duvet for me.

"Thanks" I replied as she literally threw everything onto the floor.

"Right" she said as she waved her wand at the pile, causing it all to shrink rapidly. She then proceeded to stuff the now very small pile into her pocket and we made our way out of the common room and up to North Tower.

I had never been up to the tower before but the area round it seemed pretty deserted. It was a bit of a climb up and I only just restrained myself from running up the stairs, regardless of the others knowing about it now. After a few minutes of walking silently up the stairs I was the first one at the top. Lizzy, Susan and another girl I presumed to be Mandy were already there and they smiled up at me as I entered.

"Hey Ally" Lizzy greeted happily, beckoning me further into the room.

"Ally this is Mandy, Mandy, Ally" Susan introduced and I smiled politely at the girl.

"Pleased to meet you" I said happily. The girl returned my smile and I took a moment to take in her appearance. Mandy was the same height as Susan, with black hair loosely curled and blue eyes. She was extremely pretty and I'm sure that she got a lot of attention from the boys here.

"You too" Mandy replied, her smile broadening as the others came into the room.

"Hey guys" Fiona said as she bounded into the room, throwing herself down on Lizzy's duvet.

"Oi get off you lump" Lizzy said grinning, now softly kicking Fiona. I watched as Lily got out all of our stuff and re-sized it before beginning to lay it all out. It didn't take her very long and soon the whole floor was covered in soft duvets. It seemed that Lily had multipled the number of duvets present, as they were quite a few layers laid down on the floor.

"Right, extra food run" Lily said, taking charge of the situation. Fiona and Lizzy remained on the floor as Alice, Susan and Mandy all said at exactly the same time,

"We'll come". This made them three burst out laughing and the four of them began to make their way out.

"We might as well meet you down in the Great Hall for dinner" Lily said finally, before disappearing down the stairs. I was aware that I was still standing and so I slipped my shoes off before sitting myself down where Fiona and Lizzy were sitting. I looked up to see them both looking back at me, grins on their faces.

"So, you and Sirius were holding hands earlier" Fiona began with a statement. I blushed as I remembered how I thought the two of them had been watching me.

"He just wondered about the temperature thing" I said quickly, my cheeks still feeling very hot. Fiona just grinned at me.

"That was his excuse for holding your hand all the way up to the castle?!" Lizzy exclaimed, moving forward slightly. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again at her words, nodding hesitantly. I shifted my arm about awkwardly in the sling, not quite knowing what else to say.

"That's a new excuse for him" Lizzy commented, looking over at Fiona who nodded. My mind suddenly reeled back, allowing me to remember the conversation me and Fiona had on the way down to the Hospital Wing after my fall.

"You said that he had been acting....unusually?" I asked, looking directly up at Fiona. She nodded to confirm this.

"What makes you say that?" I asked slightly curiously.

"Sirius can get any girl he wants. And I mean literally any girl" Fiona began,

"He doesn't even need to try at all. One smile, one wink, and one cheeky comment and he has them. He knows exactly what he's doing. It's the first week and he hasn't got a girl yet. Highly unusual. Sirius seems to like you, but he's not acting like he normally does" Fiona ended, looking at me. I blushed a little towards the end of her explanation.

"So what makes you think he likes me then?" I queried, my voice quite quiet. Fiona shrugged and sighed.

"I don't. It's just a guess" she told me, although there was a small smile present.

"And you think your guess is right?" I asked, smiling despite myself. She nodded.

"Besides, we've been watching you two" Lizzy chipped in. I turned my head to look her, a puzzled expression on my face. Her eyes widened a little before she continued.

"What?! Just wanted to confirm our suspicions!" she said, defending herself and Fiona. I just laughed at them and they then joined in with me.

"Right, dinner" Lizzy said, jumping to her feet, extending her hand to help me up. I thankfully took it and she seemed shocked.

"You're really hot!" she exclaimed. Fiona burst out laughing,

"It sounds like your trying to chat her up!" she managed to spit out. This made me laugh and Lizzy just pushed Fiona over.

"Come on you" she said, now poking Fiona with her foot.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" Fiona said at last while I slipped my shoes on. We slowly left the tower, talking and laughing the whole way down.

Entering the Great Hall we could see no sign of the other girls and so we sat ourselves down at the top of the table, near the doors. We had just began eating when a lone owl swooped in and landed in front of me.

"Odd time for mail" Fiona remarked. It took me a while to realise that it was actually Sarah and Phil's owl. I frowned slightly, remembering how I had only sent my letter off yesterday. I thought they would be in France by now.

"Hi Fleur" I murmured to the owl who nudged my hand to make me stroke her. I gently patted her before taking the letter. She then blinked at me once before taking off. The writing on the front was that of Sarah's and I opened the letter, curious as to what was inside.

**'Ally,**

**Mum's slightly mad. Thought I would write you a quick warning - Si'**. I frowned at the odd beginning and wondered what Sarah could be mad about.

**'Nathalie Marie Turner,**

**I have just been informed that you have sustained a fracture to your hand. I was told that this was due to a 'trip up the stairs'. You know as well as I do that I don't believe that at all. After speaking to Maddie she told me most injuries sustained in that area are from punching. You have been brought up to be a young lady, not a young hooligan! There is absoloutly no need to go round punching anybody WHAT SO EVER. You had your wand on you I presume? So why not use that instead?! Not that I am condoning that sort of behaviour. Two visits to the hospital wing in the space of two days? Keep yourself out of trouble young lady.**

**Sarah'** I groaned out loud. I should have known that Maddie and Joe would have found out. They would have needed to know to put it on my medical record.

"What's up?" Lizzy asked, slightly bemused. I shoved the letter in her direction and her and Fiona quickly scanned through it, before they burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?". James, Sirius, Peter and Remus appeared, all looking curiously at the letter in Lizzy's hand. Fiona looked at me as if to ask my permission and I just nodded my head.

"Nathalie Marie Turner" she began reading it out loud.

"Nathalie Marie? Nice" James told me, grinning. I just rolled my eyes. She then continued to read out what Sarah had written to me, the boys laughing by the end of it.

"Did you read the rest of it?" Lizzy asked, turning to me. I just looked at her and she shoved the letter back in my hand.

**'Oh Ally,**

**Mum wasn't happy when she found out! So come on, who did you punch and why? And if you don't tell me Luke will! Apart from that, I hope everything is going well for you. You'll have to write to us and tell us all about it, we've only heard Luke's dodgey versions of the place! I'll speak to you soon little sister,**

**Max**

**x**

**Ally,**

**Oh dear, I'm afraid you made Sarah a leetle annoyed. Me, not as much. Max said he'll teach you to punch properly when you arrive home, yes? I think that might be a good idea. We hope to hear from you soon, telling us all about school yes?**

**Love,**

**Phil**

**x'**

I read the rest of the letter and couldn't help but smile a little at Phil's very good attempt to write in english. I looked up to see both Fiona and Lizzy smiling at me. The boys had disappeared off further down the table, and looking up at the entrance to the Hall, I could now see Lily, Susan, Alice and Mandy coming over to us. They all took a seat and eagerly started eating.

"A little late for a letter isn't it?" Alice queried, looking at the letter in my hand. I then proceeded to read it out, by which time everyone was laughing again. Even Lily couldn't help but laugh. We continued to eat our dinner talking and laughing as we went. I kept my eye on the door, waiting for a certain someone to arrive. I didn't have to wait long for him to come in.

"Luke" I said to him as he passed, standing up to properly face him. He spun and gave me a guilty smile. I waved the letter in front of his face and he took it off of me, smiling as he read it. He finished and looked up at me.

"You so wrote to Max didn't you?" I asked him. I saw Luke sigh, casting his eyes round the girls I was sitting with, all who were watching him. I saw his eyes linger on Lily who blushed and looked down. Luke smiled somewhat cockily, and I rose my eyebrows at him. He just shrugged, grinning.

"Maybe" he said, handing the letter back to me. I then hit him on the arm (with my good hand of course).

"Although I totally agree with Phil about Max teaching you properly" he said, his grin broadening. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes, watching as he moved away to his own friends. I looked round to see that everyone had more or less finished their dinner.

"Right, I'd better go to the Hospital Wing" I said, remaining standing.

"We'll come with you" both Fiona and Lizzy said, jumping up as well.

"Meet you four up in the tower" Fiona said, and with that we walked out of the Great Hall up to the Hospital Wing.

It didn't take us too long and I sat myself down on a bed as instructed by Madam Pomfrey. Lizzy sat down on the chair and Fiona on the end of the bed. We didn't have to wait too long until Professor Ford came waltzing in.

"Good evening ladies" he greeted politely. Both Fiona and Lizzy beamed at him.

"Good evening Professor" we all said at exactly the same time. Our similarities were scary sometimes.

"I've been asked to leave you with some medication for your hand" he explained, now reaching into his bag which I had failed to notice before. He set down a box of them, and from my position I could tell they were pain killers.

"Three times a day after every meal" he explained, before getting something else out from his bag. He produced another box and moved over to stand opposite me.

"As well as another injection I'm afraid". My eyes widened. But he wasn't a doctor!

"Having a doctor in the family proves handy. Don't worry I know what I'm doing" he reassured me, preparing it.

"Right, this one isn't half as strong as the one you had yesterday. This one will take effect in about an hour and you'll just feel a little drowsy" Professor Ford explained, now holding the injection expertly. I sighed, and decided it would be best if I just took my jumper off. I took my sling off before I very slowly managed to remove my jumper. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, which was normal for me: I didn't like people seeing my scar. Somehow, everyone had failed to notice it so far. I awkwardly rolled up my sleeve, making sure to hide the scar on the inside of my arm. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I felt the needle pierce my skin, stinging as it done so. However it didn't last too long and I soon felt the pain subside and the needle come out.

"Right, now you're all done you can feel free to go. Just remember to take it easy" Professor Ford told me, a smile on his face.

"Thank you sir" I told him before rolling my sleeve backdown and putting my sling back on. I then jumped off the bed, grabbing my jumper and the box of tablets as I went. I gave Professor Ford one last smile before I walked out accompanied by Fiona and Lizzy.

"What was that thing?" Fiona questionned me as soon as we were out of the Hospital Wing.

"It's an injection. It has medicine inside it. It works much quicker than a tablet because it goes straight into your blood stream" I explained to her as we walked along. She frowned a little as I told her.

"But doesn't it hurt?" she asked, looking up at me.

"A little. It's just like a small sting and then thats it" I told her. She just shook her head and I could see she wasn't fully supportive of muggle medicine.

"Fiona's a pure blood so she doesn't really know a lot about muggle medicine or anything" Lizzy told me. I had already kind of guessed that and now it all made sense really. I was guessing James was also a pureblood as his reaction had been the same as Fiona's when he had seen me.

I had decided to run up the stairs to the tower, which meant it only took me a few seconds before I arrived. The other four were already up there.

"What did they make you do?" Alice asked grinning. I showed her the box of tablets but she just frowned.

"Tablets for my hand and another injection" I explained, flopping down on the floor. Lily, Mandy and Susan screwed their faces up appropraitely but Alice looked confused.

"What's an in-jecks-un?" Alice asked curiously, slowly trying to pronounce the word.

"It has a sharp point and like a small tube. Inside the tube there's medicine and the needle pierces the skin where the medicine is then injected into the blood stream" I managed to whittle off quickly. Alice's eyes widened appropriately.

"But doesn't that hurt?!" she exclaimed, rubbing her own arm. I nodded my head and she frowned.

"Where's Lizzy and Fi?" Lily now asked me, looking round. I grinned.

"I ran up the stairs" I told her happily. She began laughing and I joined in, just as the two of them appeared.

So far the evening had been really good. The injection had kicked in a while ago though now and I was really beginning to feel tired. Professor Ford had given me the injection at about 6.45 and it was now ten. My right arm felt extremely heavy, and I was actually thankful for the sling: it was doing a great job of keeping my arm up. It was still early though and the others all seemed pretty hyped up and alert. They had spent the most part of the evening telling me all about the people in our year, gossip as such. However, now that I was beginning to feel extremely tired my mind was slowly drifting.

"Tired?" I heard a voice from beside me say. I turned to see Lily smiling at me.

"I'm feeling the effects of that injection" I admitted, feeling very sleepy.

"It wasn't as strong as yesterdays though?" she asked me, taking in my tired expression. I shook my head,

"Nope, but it kicked in at about 7.45" I told her, and she pulled my arm to see the time.

"Wow, you've been fighting that well!" she exclaimed, a broad smile on her face.

"Just go to sleep, it's fine" she said and I laid myself down, thinking I would just rest my eyes and listen to their ongoing conversations...

I woke up to the sight of sunlight pouring in through the windows. Sitting up I felt the dull throbbing of my hand and looked down to see it was still in the sling. I must have fallen asleep in it last night then. Looking around I saw the girls scattered all over the place, all of them still fast asleep. Glancing down at my watch I saw that it was only 8 o'clcok, and besides, it was only Saturday. I very slowly and carefully heaved myself up and decided I would wander back to the dormitory to get a fresh change of clothes before breakfast: I had a feeling the girls would be asleep for a while longer yet.

The castle was extremely quiet, with only a few people up and about. Once I got up to the dormitory I decided to take a quick shower before I put on the jeans, polo top and cardigan I had received for my birthday. I couldn't really be bothered with my hair and so just left it wavy before going down to breakfast, tablets and wand in pocket.

The Great Hall was extremely empty and I took a seat, eating relatively quickly.

"Got somewhere to be?" Looking up I saw Will take a seat opposite me, smile on his face. I shook my head, but hesitated before answering.

"I, um, was going to do a bit of practise. Try using my wand with my left hand" I told him honestly, shrugging.

"Dedication" he remarked before helping himself to some breakfast. We sat in silence for a while, each of us left in our own thoughts.

"Your up early" Will said after a while.

"I'm always up early" I replied, smiling at him. He returned it enthustiastically. I had finished my breakfast a while ago and decided now would be the best time to take the first tablet of the day. I noticed Will watching me and I just looked back at him. He just shook his head as if clearing it.

"So, apart from practising are you doing anything today?" Will asked me, once he had finished eating.

"Not that I know of, yourself?" I asked him, thinking it only polite.

"Only Quidditch try outs, which I should really be getting off to" he said, looking down at his watch.

"I'm sorry, I'm guna have to go, I'll talk to you later though?" he questionned, standing up and looking down at me.

"Sure, good luck!" I told him as he gave me one last smile before disappearing. I sat in the Great Hall for a little while longer, thinking of where I could practise. I decided I would try Professor Ford's room, especially as he knew quite a bit about my injury. With this destination in mind I got up and quickly walked in the direction of the stairs.

I didn't know if Professor Ford would be in his room this morning but I decided it would be better to knock before I went in.

"Come in" I heard his deep voice say and I slowly opened the door to see him packing some stuff away.

"Ah, good morning Miss Turner" he said, facing to turn my.

"Morning Professor" I replied politely, making my way further into the room.

"And what can I do for you?" he asked, leaning against his desk.

"Well, with my hand like this" I began, gesturing to my fractured hand,

"I can't use my wand. But I was hoping that if I practised a little I would be able to use my left hand. But I haven't got anywhere to practise and so I thought maybe I could ask you if I could practise in here?" I asked, relatively quickly.

"Well, when you put it like that...of course you can" Professor Ford told me, a big smile on his face. I beamed back at him,

"Thankyou very much sir" I said politely, and he turned to grab his bag.

"Right, I'm off to breakfast now, so practise away" he said gesturing around the room.

"But, don't over exert yourself" he warned before turning and disappearing through the door. I was then left on my own and decided I would start with a few simple spells. I rolled my sleeves up and got out my wand as well as the box of tablets. I placed the box on the desk in front of me and took a seat. My wand didn't feel as comfortable in my left hand as it did in my right. But still. I completely focused on what I needed to do, pushing all other thoughts out of my mind.

_Wingardium leviosa_ I thought, pointing my wand at the box. It rose feebly before dropping. Sighing, I messily tied my hair up with one hand, ready to face a long day.

I lost all track of time and had managed to perform quite a few spells, although not all of them. They weren't up to the normal standard yet I could still do them. I was now trying my hand at the Protonous charm, thinking that it would most likely come up in lesson some time soon. My memory was strong yet my magic didn't seem to be. I was getting frustrated and was standing in the middle of the room, having made a space by moving aside some tables. I ended up getting annoyed with myself and started performing spells at random, banishing and levitating objects. In the end I half gave up and sat down on the floor leaning against one of the desks. I hadn't been sitting there for very long at all when the door creaked open.

"So this is where you've been hiding" came the husky voice of Sirius as he moved further in the room, dodging round the many desks.

**Sirius' POV**

The girls had been frantically looking all round the castle for her, and so we had decided to join in. I decided to use the map that we had made and easily found her down here. I was suprised by her location and was curious to know what exactly she was doing and so I slipped down and see her. I carefully maneouvered my way round the desks to where she was sitting on the floor.

"Practising" she corrected me, not bothering to move. Instead I chose to sit next to her as I puzzled over what she meant.

"Practising?" I queried, now looking round the room at the numerous amount of objects that were scattered everywhere.

"Trying to use my left hand" Ally explained and I looked down at her injured hand, chuckling as I remembered how she managed to hurt herself.

"You've had everyone looking everywhere for you, you know?" I told her after a moments silence, knowing that they were most probably still looking for her.

"I completely forgot" she admitted, leaning her head back on the desk leg behind her. Sitting there, I took a moment to take in her appearance. The sleeves of her cardigan were rolled up, exposing her tanned skin. Her hair fell messily around her rosy cheeks, and she looked oddly sexy. Ally looked over at me as I thought this and I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts.

"So how did you manage to find me?" she asked, eyes glowing a blue green colour. I hesitated for a moment, thinking of a plausible explantion.

"Everyone split up and I took this corridor" I said with a shrug, trying to pass it off as a casual occurance. It seemingly worked as she just nodded. Not quite knowing why, I looked down to see how close our hands were on the ground, and I remembered how it was only yesterday I had that small and delicate hand in my own.

"I guess I should go see them all then" Ally said suddenly, breaking my trail of thought. Merlin, did I really just think that thought?! I was going soft. Not good. I coughed, clearing my throat, trying to restore my manly feeling, as I heaved myself up off the floor.

**Allys POV**

I watched as Sirius very quickly got up before spinning round and extending his hand, a grin on his face. I gratefully accepted and he rapidly pulled me up, holding my hand for just a second too long before dropping it. I thought back to my conversation with Fiona and Lizzy yesterday, blushing as I did so. I shook my head, trying to get get rid of the thought before I looked at the room around us. I waved my wand and watched as the classroom restored itself (rather slowly admittedly), feeling very pleased with my left handed magic. I then proceeded to put back all the objects I had used until the room looked back to normal. I saw my tablets on the other side of the room and turned to Sirius.

"Could you do me a favour please?" I asked, turning to him.

"Sure" he replied, a grin on his face.

"Catch" I said, before summoning the box. It was just about to whack into me when his hand extended and grabbed it. I then pocketed my wand before I spun to face him.

"Thanks" I told him, and he smiled his crooked smile before handing it to me.

"Any time" he said, making his way over to the door, holding it open for me. I smiled before stepping through it.

"So where is everyone else then?" I asked him as we walked relatively slowly down the corridor. Sirius frowned for a second before turning to me, smile on face.

"Great Hall" he told me. I looked down at my watch to see that it was now 1.15. I had been practising from about 9 this morning. Come to think of it I was really kind of hungry.

"Forgot about lunch as well?" Sirius asked me suddenly. I looked up to see him grinning, and nodded.

"Don't tell James and Fiona that then" he said, chuckling a little.

We didn't talk that much on the way down, just the odd comment or two from Sirius about my hand. On entering the Great Hall I saw that loads of people were already at lunch and I spotted the girls sitting about half way down. The boys were sitting right by the door.

"You found her then" James commented, a grin on his face. I looked at Sirius to see him roll his eyes and I felt like I was missing something here.

"Where were you hiding then?" he asked, turning to me.

"Ancient Runes classroom" I told him with a slight shrug. James looked at me curiously and Remus just smiled at me.

"Well, I'd better go and see everyone else" I said nodding my head further down the table. They all nodded and smiled at me as I moved away from them and further down the table. Fiona looked up and done a double take as she saw me approach.

"ALLY TURNER....WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" she yelled, getting up from her seat and marching over to me, arms folded.

"Erm, Ancient Runes classroom" I admitted sheepishly.

"What were you doing in there?!" Fiona exclaimed dramatically.

"Practising using my wand in my left hand" I told her, looking up at her. Her mouth made a small 'O' shape as she looked past me and further up the table.

"How did Sirius find you?" she now asked frowning a little. I was a little confused by this, seeing as they had apparently all split up.

"Didn't you all split up and Sirius ended up on the third corridor where the classroom is?" I asked a little hesitantly.

**Fiona's POV**

So, thats the story Sirius had used. I think I would need to have a chat with him. I had allowed my mind to drift a little before remembering I had left Ally hanging.

"Oh yeah, course" I said hurridly, beckoning her over to where we were sitting. I hadn't realised just quite how far over I had marched. Ally took a seat next to me before Lily began the questionning.

"Where have you been?! We've been looking everywhere for you!" she exclaimed. Ally have another sheepish smile before responding.

"I was in the Ancient Runes classroom" was all she said before she began to awkwardly pile up her plate. Lily continued to look at her but said nothing else on the matter and so I decided to move conversation on.

"Are you going to come and watch try outs Ally?" I asked, looking at her. She looked up but looked a little confused when I remembered that I hadn't fully explained.

"Quidditch try outs" I added and I saw the comprehension draw on her face.

"Oh, yeah sure" Ally replied happily, a smile on her face. I smiled back at her and we talked as we continued to eat.

It wasn't too long after Ally had joined us when I jumped up.

"Come on guys, lets go go go!" I exclaimed. I was about to drag Ally up when I remembered her hand and I settled for continuous tugging on her cardigan until she moved herself.

"Okay okay, I'm coming" she said in a slight exhasperated voice, although I could see that there was a slight smile on her face. I turned to the others and gestured with my hands for them to hurry up.

"Erm, Fi? Aren't you forgetting something?" Lily asked me, a grin on her face. I frowned wondering what she was talking about. She took my silence as a note to go on,

"Hmm, Quidditch try outs. What might you actually need for that?" she asked sarcastically. I thought about what she was saying and then to what I would-

"MY BROOM!" I yelled, completely annoyed with myself that I had forgotten. All the girls burst out laughing.

"Lucky for you, I know what you're like" Lily told me, and she dove into her pocket to retrieve a small item which she then proceeded to tap with her wand. I watched as it grew larger and took the form of my broom.

"Lily Evans, I bludy love you" I told her before hugging her happily. She just sighed and I saw her roll her eyes as she pulled back.

"Whats the temperature like out today?" Ally said suddenly, looking up at the ceiling. The sky was extremely clear today, although that didn't mean it would be warm.

"Kinda cold I would guess" Alice replied, also looking up at the ceiling.

"I''ll be back in 10 seconds" Ally said with a grin before walking extremely quickly out of the Great Hall where I then lost sight of her. Lily was grinning and all the rest of us looked a little beweildered.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one" Lily said quietly, looking expectantly towards the entrance of the hall. Confused, I copied her actions and was therefore suprised when I saw Ally walk back into the Hall.....with a coat. My eyes widened as I realised what she had just done.

"If your hand wasn't injured I would be forcing you to try out for the team" I told her as she walked back over to us. She laughed a little at this comment.

"It doesn't quite work like that" was all she said, and I'm guessing that it meant her special talents couldn't be used in the air. I just shook my head as I began pushing everyone out of the Hall, calling to James and Sirius as I went.

As we walked out I could see the Ravenclaws making their way inside, presumably just having finished their own tryouts. I was skipping happily ahead of the others, glad to be out in the fresh air. Looking towards the pitch I could see that it was relatively empty, although I thought I could make out the figure of our captain, Alex Merret. I bounded over to go see him and he turned, a smile on his face as he saw it was me.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to get out here" he said, looking through a few sheets of paper.

"Just had to rally up some support" I told him, gesturing to the others as he looked up. He sighed, shaking his head.

"What?!" I exclaimed, taking a step towards him to look at the numerous amounts of names he had written down.

"Nothing, nothing" was all he said, shaking his head.

I stood there talking to Alex for some time before the boys finally joined us. They immediately jumped on their brooms, releasing some of their energy and I gladfully joined them. Soaring up, the wind ruffling through my hair, I could see the girls taking a seat in the stands. However, looking a little closer I saw that Ally wasn't with them. I flew over to where they were sitting to ask them.

"Masters caught up with her" Lily said, pointing to the ground, not far from the pitch where I could now see the two of them talking.

**Ally's POV**

I had fallen behind everyone slightly as I struggled to get my coat on with only my one available hand. I decided I should just stop walking altogether in the hope that this might help.

"Let me help you with that" I heard a voice I recognised. Looking up I saw Will standing there, a smile on his face. He walked round behind me and held my coat, helping me to slip my left arm in. I left my right hand just underneath my coat, not feeling too bothered about taking my sling off to then hurt my hand further by shoving it in the sleeve.

"Thanks" I told him, once he had moved to stand opposite me again.

"No problem" he told me, the smile still on his face.

"How did try outs go?" I asked, now taking in the simple tracksuit and tshirt appearance.

"Great. Made chaser again" he said, grinning.

"Well done!" I exclaimed, moving forward to hug him. It seemed as if he was a little suprised at first but he hugged me back enthustiastically.

"Ouch" I said, laughing a little as I moved away from him.

"I'm sorry I forgot about your hand" Will said a little sheepishly, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"It's really okay" I told him honestly, smiling up at him.

"So you will of course be coming to the first Quidditch match of the season, Ravenclaw v's Hufflepuff?" he asked me, shoving his hands in his pockets, a grin on his face. I couldn't help but smile back at him,

"Of course" I told him, and his grin widened.

"Great, and if its a win you're most definently invited to the after party" he said, a large smile on his face.

"I look forward to it" I replied, returning the smile.

"Now that we've got that sorted I'm going to grab some lunch. So I'll talk to you later?" he phrased the last part of his sentence with a question.

"Sure" I replied happily and he beamed back at me before walking in the direction of the Great Hall. I looked towards the pitch to see someone whizzing towards me. Slightly startled I took a step back when Fiona hurtled to a stop infront of me.

"Ooooooo....you and Will Masters" she said very loudly in a very sing song voice. My eyes widened and I took a glance behind me to see that Will had turned round and was looking at us with a broad grin on his face. He seemed to chuckle before winking and then walking on.

"Fiona!" I exclaimed, attempting to whack her with my good arm but failing when she just flew to the side. She just laughed as I walked towards the pitch, her flying beside me.

"So what were you two talking about?" she asked me, and I turned to see a large smile on her face.

"Quidditch" was my short reply and I knew it had the potential to annoy her.

"Yeah, because Quidditch involves hugging" Fiona said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"I was just congratulating him on making chaser!" I exclaimed.

"Mm-hmm, sure you were" she said, before bursting out laughing. Again I reached out to whack her and she just whizzed off. I grinned to myself knowing that I could easily catch up, and so decided to go for a run. Fiona stopped not too far away and she looked where I had previously been to see if she could see me.

"Looking for me?" I asked from behind her. She jumped and promptly fell off her broom, which made me burst out laughing.

"That is so not fair" she said grumbling from her position on the floor.

"Fiona Shorts, are you going to grace us with your presence any time today?"

My head snapped up to see a boy, probably a year older than Fiona standing in front of us. His arms folded although there was a small smile present.

"Jeez, I'm coming, I'm coming" she said complaining, heaving herself up off of the floor. He laughed a little before turning his attention to me.

"Oh, I don't believe you two have met. Alex, Ally. Ally, Alex" she said quickly. Alex smiled at me, a slight twinkle in his dark blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you" he said politely, nodding his head at me.

"You too" I replied, equally as politely.

"Come on then" Fiona said, tugging at his sleeve, before jumping on her broom and zooming off. Alex chuckled and turned to me.

"Coming to watch?" he asked, as we both began to make our way over to the pitch.

"Yeah, Fiona kind of insisted" I admitted, a smile on my face. He sighed and shook his head.

"She's a lively one" he commented, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"So, you're a transfer right? And a Gryffindor I'm going to assume?" Alex asked me as we drew nearer to the pitch.

"Yes to both of your questions" I told him smiling. He returned the smile as we arrived by the stands.

"Right, I'd better go and organise all that lot" he said, wincing as he jabbed his thumb in the direction of a load of over keen first years. I laughed a little at his pained expression.

"I'm sure you'll have loads of fun" I said to him and he just grinned at me.

"I'll try. I guess I'll see you round in the common room?" he asked, phrasing it in the exact same way Will had with his departing sentence.

"Yeah sure" I replied and he smiled before walking over to the first years and beginning to shout at them. I couldn't help but laugh a little as I began to make my way up the stairs which I presumed would lead me to where the others were sitting.

Sure enough I found all the girls, minus Fiona, sitting there talking.

"Take your time" Lizzy remarked, gesturing to the empty seat beside her. I flashed a grin at her before sitting down, looking round. The stand we were in was located right in the middle of the pitch and, looking down, I could see Alex ordering everyone about.

"So, what did Will want?" Lizzys voice brought me back to the present. Looking at her, I saw her grinning at me.

"Just gave me a hand with my coat and we had a quick chat about Quidditch" I told her honestly.

"What about Quidditch?" she questionned further. Honestly.

"He told me about making chaser. And then he asked me if I would be coming to the first match of the season and-" I stopped as I remembered his invitation.

"Oooo, and what else?" she asked, nudging me slightly.

"And he invited me to the after party if they won" I admitted, a small smile on my face. Her eyes widened as she took in this piece of information.

"Will Masters invited Ally to the Ravenclaw afterparty!" she exclaimed loudly, turning to the other girls.

"We would have gone anyway thanks to Susan see-" Lily began but it seemed as if it only just clicked what Lizzy had said.

"WILL MASTERS INVITED YOU?!" she all but shouted. I flinched a little at the sound of her extremely loud voice.

"Erm, yeah he did" I told her, shrugging a little.

"But he never asks ANY girl to the afterparty!" Susan exclaimed, joining in with the very loud tone of voice.

"Really?" I asked, caught off guard and was a little suprised by this revelation.

"Yeah, really!" Lizzy told me. I was still a little suprised by this and suddenly remembered a question I had been meaning to ask someone.

"When _is_ the first match of the season?" I asked to noone in particular.

"Middle of October" Susan said at once. All the other girls turned to look at her, and their expressions were a little suprised.

"What?! Its a Ravenclaw match, I should know! In fact, Lizzy should know to because its against Hufflepuff!" she exclaimed, now looking at Lizzy. In a slightly funny movement, Alice, Lily and Mandy all looked at her as well.

"Heey, you know I don't pay attention to these things! And Mandy didn't exactly know did she!" Lizzy said, defending herself. Mandy gave a sheepish grin and a shrug.

"So really, how do you know Suze?" Lily asked, looking very curious.

"I heard the boys talking about it the other night" she admitted with a shrug. I just turned to Lizzy to see her looking at me, eyebrows raised slightly.

**Lizzy's POV**

I couldn't believe that Will Masters had asked Ally to the afterparty. I mean we would have gone anyway because of Susan and now, I guess, Mandy. Every girl always tried to get Will to ask her, and Will had asked Ally like, more than a month in advance. Hmmm. Looking out across at the pitch I could just make out Sirius talking to Fiona. My mind raced back to the conversation me, Fiona and Ally had had last night. The one which involved Sirius. And I couldn't help but wonder how he would take the news.

**Voila, update sooooon hopefully!**


	12. Quidditch

**A/N: Number 12. My apologies in advance, this one is short chapter but I felt I kinda of needed to wrap up this short section before moving on. And, as it is short, I promise to update a bit sooner with a longer chapter, so it's all good! Thankyou for those who have reviewed, I appreciate it greatly!! Anyways enough of my blabbering, on with le story =)**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine...sad times**

**Fiona's POV**

Quidditch try outs went well, and I successfully managed to get the position of chaser, as well as Sirius. James had also been successful in getting seeker. All three of us sat down on the edge of the pitch as Alex tried sorting out the position of keeper and beaters (him being the third chaser). Remus was trying out for beater and I was pretty confident he would get it. Anyway, we hadn't been sitting down for too long when Sirius' voice broke the silence.

"Ally took her time getting down here" he remarked, trying to sound casual. I turned to face him, eyebrows raised giving him a sceptical look. He just stared right back at me.

"Mm-hmm. She got a bit caught up" was all I said, and I could see Sirius frown as he tried to decipher this.

"What, with Masters?" James asked. Evidently someone had been paying attention.

"Yup, with him" I confirmed with a nod. Sirius frowned a little and James carried on looking at me.

"What?!" I exclaimed when he didn't stop.

"What happened?" he asked me curiously. I just grinned.

"You'll have to ask her that one" was all I said by way of answer. He just frowned before turning his attention back to the pitch.

It didn't take much longer, and soon enough I was waiting for the girls to join me. The boys were lingering about the pitch, talking to Alex about the up and coming matches.

"Take your time guys" I yelled out to them once they were beginning to get a little closer.

"You were saying?" Ally said from beside me. I jumped.

"Merlin, don't do that to me!" I exclaimed, going to whack her before realising that I was standing next to her bad hand.

"You were the one who yelled" she retorted and I just sighed in defeat.

"So how'd it go?" she asked me as we waited for the others to catch up.

"Great. Got chaser" I told her smiling. Ally beamed at me before hugging me slightly awkwardly..

"Well done!" she said happily.

"You were so trying to prove a point then weren't you?" I asked her, eyebrows raised. I saw confusion flash across her face, as a frown appeared.

"What point?" she asked, looking up at me.

"About the hugging congratulations" I told her, and I saw her understand as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Hey Fi, how'd it go?" Lizzy asked, finally approaching us with the rest of the girls.

"It went really well, got chaser" I replied happily as Lizzy gave me a hug.

"Well done you!" she exclaimed, and I caught Allys attention as she rose her eyebrows at me as if to say 'see, I'm not the only one'. I just rolled my eyes as I grinned at her. The rest of the girls all gave me a hug as we made our way back up to the castle. I was walking along with Lizzy and Ally as Alice, Lily, Susan and Mandy walked ahead of us.

"So what do _you_ make of Will Masters asking Ally to the afterparty?" Lizzy asked me, as Ally nudged her.

"What?" I asked abruptly stopping, eyes widening. The boys had been walking behind us and they now stood with us.

"Yeah, what?" I heard James ask, the frown in his voice obvious. Ally blushed a little as she looked down.

"Will asked me to the Ravenclaw afterparty, but its only if they win" she hastily added in, hesitantly looking up.

"Of course Ravenclaw will win" Sirius muttered, although I'm pretty sure Ally heard as she turned to look at him. I turned to Lizzy who had a grin on her face and eyebrows raised. I knew exactly what she was thinking. I looked at Sirius, who was looking straight back at Ally, a small frown on his face. Obviously Sirius didn't approve.

"What's wrong with Masters asking her Sirius?" I asked, an innocent tone to my voice. Lizzy laughed, only to hastily cover it by coughing. Sirius turned in my direction, the frown still on his face.

"I didn't say anything was wrong" he said quietly, before grabbing James and Remus and walking off. Ally looked between me and Lizzy, and I'm pretty sure that she would have crossed her arms if she was able to.

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly, and before we knew it we were heading down to dinner. The boys hadn't been around all afternoon, not that I was too suprised by this. Although I did suspect that they were planning something. Anyway, it ended up being me Lizzy and Ally walking down to the Great Hall (Lily and Alice had gone down earlier).

"Sirius seemed a bit peeved earlier" Lizzy commented suddenly. I turned to look at her, a small smile on her face. Looking in Allys direction I could see her frown a little, obviously confused by this.

"Did he?" she questionned, looking between me and Lizzy. I sighed, although I was unable to keep the grin off my face.

"Yup. Most definently to do with Will asking you to the party" I told her and she just rolled her eyes. Clearly she didn't believe our theory about Sirius liking her. Ally said nothing else and we continued walking down to dinner. Walking into the Great Hall I could see the girls sitting about half way down and looked round for the boys. I found them quickly, only to frown a little. Sirius was talking to Chloe Baker, who looked to be in her element. We walked past them, and I was glad that he had the decency to look a little guilty when he saw us.

"Sirius" I greeted, a little icily. He rose his eyebrows at me, and I could see a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Chloe just glared at me, Lizzy and finally Ally.

"Who's that?" she said extremely rudely, head pointing in Allys direction.

"None of your business" I replied, and I could see a look of distaste cross her face. Ally obviously felt a little uncomfortable with the current situation and she shuffled around.

"Hey Fiona, Ally". I turned and saw Alex and one of his friends, Callum Laws approach us. Ally was clearly very grateful for his appearance and she beamed at him.

"Hi" she greeted happily.

"See you later Sirius" I told him, completely ignoring Chloe as we moved further down the table, Alex and Callum with us.

**Ally's POV**

I should have known I would have been brought back to reality soon enough. Not everyone you meet is going to like you. It seemed the case with the girl who was talking to Sirius. I didn't feel at all comfortable with the situation I had been thrown into and so hearing the voice of someone I recognised (even if it was only a few hours since I had properly met them) was so much of a relief to me. I turned away from the awkwardness and turned to see Alex and another boy with him walking towards us.

"Hi" I said very relieved to have some sort of escape. I hadn't looked at Sirius throughout the whole exchange and didn't plan to now. Fiona gave him a somewhat cold dismissal as we walked towards the others.

"So you've seen huh?" Alice asked as I took a seat next to her.

"Sure bludy have" Fiona replied, grumbling. Alex took a seat next to me, and his friend on the other side.

"Don't mind if we join you do you?" he asked, even though they had already made themselves comfortable.

"Course not Capt'n" Fiona responded, giving him a mock salute at which point he just rolled his eyes. As was beginning to become a routine, I awkwardly began to pile my plates as everyone dove into conversation.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Ally, Callum. Callum, Ally" Alex said, leaning back slightly. Callum had blonde hair with greeny coloured eyes. He smiled back at me, not saying anything due to the food that had already been crammed into his mouth. I returned the smile as Fiona began talking Quidditch with the two boys, leaving me to talk to the others.

We hadn't been eating for too long when we were interupted.

"Glad to see you're in the same state I saw you in yesterday".

Looking up I saw Luke grinning down at me. I just rolled my eyes but was saved the trouble of answering when Alex spoke up.

"Luke, mate. Joining us?" he asked. Evidently the two were friends.

"Yeah, I might as well" Luke replied with a shrug, taking a seat next to Fiona.

"Evening girls, Lily" he greeted everyone of the girls with the typical smile he reserved for events such as these. Having being adressed personally, Lily blushed and looked down at her plate, hurridly continuing to eat. I glanced over at Luke who looked slightly amused and looking in my direction he just shrugged.

"So I'm guessing you two know each other?" Alex asked, looking between me and Luke.

"Yeah, we grew up together" Luke answered him with a grin. Alex returned this and then engaged Luke into a further conversation about Quidditch.

"Is that really all boys talk about?!" Alice exclaimed from beside me. I shrugged,

"Kinda. I haven't heard them talk about anything else" I replied, a small smile on my face. Alice just rolled her eyes as we both continued eating.

Dinner seemed to go on for much longer today than usual. This may have been because there was a whole mixture of us sitting together. I had managed to conspicuously take my tablet with no questions asked. Thinking that today hadn't been too bad at all I was thoroughly let down when Professor Ford approached the Gryffindor table.

"Miss Turner. Would it be possible for you to make a quick trip up to the Hospital Wing?" he asked very politely. I sighed, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

"Of course Professor" I replied, keeping my tone as polite as possible. I looked at Luke to see him frown in concern.

"Just the hand" I told him as I got up. Alice stood as well but I shook my head.

"I'll be fine really. I'll meet you up in the common room" I said to her, and with that I followed Professor Ford out of the hall and up to the Hospital Wing.

"How many more of these do I have to have?" I asked the Professor after just having received the third injection.

"You'll only need one more tomorow and then you'll be fine to just go with the tablets" he told me as he discarded of the pain inducing needle.

"How did your practising go?" he now asked, turning to fully face me.

"Really well actually thankyou. I managed to get used to the feel of my wand in my left hand" I happily told him.

"I'm glad to hear it. Make sure you get a good rest tonight though" Professor Ford said, a serious tone creeping into his voice.

"I will, and thankyou sir" I told him sincerely. He just smiled and waved me away. I slowly walked back up to the common room, concentrating on the direction I needed to be going on. Thankfully I managed to find my way without any incidents, and as I entered I looked round for Fiona, Lily and Alice. Managing to find them I began to walk over to them when I was stopped.

"Hey Ally" I heard a familiar voice greet. Turning I saw James smiling at me from their usual spot by the fire. However, looking closer I saw that Sirius and the girl he had been talking to earlier were there. Neither had noticed me, of which I was grateful.

"Hi James" I said politely, not going over.

"Why don't you come and sit with us?" he asked, very keenly it has to be said. I shook my head,

"I was going to go and sit with Fiona, Alice and Lily" I told him, still standing a bit away. It was at this unfortunate time that Sirius looked up in my direction. Seeing me, he gave me a crooked smile. The girl he had been sitting with finally saw that she no longer held his attention and frowned in my direction.

"Oh, okay" James replied a little reluctantly and I gave him one last smile before turning away from them.

"Hi guys" I said in greeting when I finally made it over to the three of them who were sitting in the corner. They all smiled up at me as I took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"Who is that?" I asked Fiona, and I'm pretty sure she knew who I meant.

"Chloe Baker" she replied very shortly, not going into much detail. I just nodded in ackowledgement as a silence settled on us.

"I really don't know why he wants to talk to _her_" Fiona spat out suddenly. She seemed kind of mad and so I thought I'd better not say anything. Instead, I chose to try and stifle a yawn; the duel effects of the tablet and injection seeping through my blood system. Lily and Alice said nothing, although the latter did have a small frown on her face. Fiona sat there, frowning the the direction of the boys, occassionally muttering a few words under her breath.

"I'm going to go up to bed" I announced after a short while of seemingly awkward silence. All three looked up at me.

"Already?" Lily asked, a small frown in place.

"Yeah, I had the injection as well as the tablets so I'm feeling it now" I told her with a small smile. The frown eased to be replaced with her own smile.

"Okay, goodnight" she said, and Alice and Fiona both smiled and said goodnight as I headed for the stairs. I didn't stop, nor did I look to the side when I passed where the boys were sitting. Instead I chose to walk straight past them and hurridly up the stairs. Once in the dormitory I released a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding. I managed to get changed quickly and as I lay in bed I reflected back on my first week here. It had been so different from Beauxbatons. People here seemed really nice, and everyone had made an effort with me. I began to drift off at this point and my last remaining thought was what would the rest of my time here at Hogwarts be like?


	13. Close Encounters

**A/N: Here we go, a treat! Very quick update for you all seeing as my last chapter was kinda short. I was in a very happy mood when I wrote this, so hopefully you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thankyou to all who reviewed, I really appreciate it!!!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me**

**Ally's POV**

It seemed that the first month here at Hogwarts flew past. Nothing of particular interest really happened. Oh, unless you count the incident at breakfast when all the Slytherins drank their morning pumpkin juice and were reduced to being the size of a peanut all day long. Somehow this couldn't be reversed immediately, and you didn't have to look far to see the Marauders doubled up with laughter, attempting to flick the Slytherins all day long. My days had begun to take the form of a routine, waking up at 7 and then walking down to breakfast with Lily and Remus. All my meals were eaten with all the girls, and Luke and a few of his friends had begun to eat dinner with us occassionally. This meant that him and Lily started to become closer and you would often find the two of them in the library. Speaking of library's, before dinner this is where I would usually end up, wanting to get my homework out of the way. Will would sometimes join me, but Edward and Jacob were my usual companions. I had astronomy with the both of them and we had become quite good friends.

So all in all, things were going really good. The first Quidditch match of the season was drawing ever closer and tensions were beginning to rise. However, all of this kind of went out of the window, on the Friday of the first week of October, when Professor Dumbledore made an announcement at dinner.

"May I have your attention please" he said rather suddenly, tapping his spoon against his glass. I could have sworn people normally used knives but I let the thought slip as I looked up expectantly.

"It is my pleasure to inform you that we will be holding a Halloween dance instead of our usual Halloween feast this year" Professor Dumbledore said happily, broad smile on his face. Chatter broke out instantly, everyone excited about the upcoming news.

"And one more thing, it will be fancy dress" he finished before sitting down.

"Fancy dress?!" both Alice and Susan exclaimed at the same time. Fancy dress! What would I go as?! I really had no clue.

"What are you going to go as?" Lily asked us all, a small frown on her face. I shrugged, as did everyone else.

"We're going to need to do some serious thinking" she continued as the chatter in the hall grew to a very loud level once again. As we continued to eat dinner I subconciously shifted in my sling. I had been a regular visitor of Professor Ford's - constantly asking him when I could get rid of the sling. His answer usually consisted of the same thing; 'soon'. I had been in the sling for about four weeks now and I wasn't warming to it any better. It seemed that Alice had noticed the movement of my arm in the sling and she turned to me now,

"No changes?" she asked, slight frown on her face. I shook my head and sighed.

"It'll be out in no time I'm sure" Alice tried reassuring me with a big smile.

"Thanks" I told her truthfully, as I sat back, having already finished my dinner.

"Whats all the fuss about?"

I looked up to see the James and Remus approaching. Thankfully, Luke had chosen to sit with us today and so him and Lily were engaged in conversation, therefore missing their arrival.

"Dumbledore just announced that we're going to be having a fancy dress Halloween dance" Alice told them. Both of them looked a little puzzled by this, but shrugged as they began to pile their plates up.

"Any ideas what you might go as?" Fiona asked them as they ate at an extremely fast rate.

"Nope, none at all" Remus said, and James gave a sort of nod/shake of the head which I took as a sign for 'no'. They hadn't been sitting there for too long when Sirius joined us...alongside Chloe. Both James and Remus rolled their eyes, and Fiona glared at her.

"Evening all" Sirius called out cheerily, and this time he caught Lilys attention. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the appearance of the three Marauders, and on contact with Chloe her eyes blazed. She then proceeded to turn her whole body round, turning her back on them.

"Hi Jamsie, Remy" Chloe said in the usual high pitched tone.

"Baker" James replied shortly, having cringed when she said hello to him. She then proceeded to turn and glare at me Alice and Fiona (Lizzy, Susan and Mandy had disappeared somewhere), before sitting extremely close to Sirius. An awkward silence fell on us in which I fiddled with my sling, avoiding eye contact. However, this didn't last long until I felt a pair of eyes on me. Looking up I saw Sirius frowning at me. I was slightly startled by this and this must have shown because the next thing I knew he was grinning at me. Chloe was talking about the 'latest gossip' which involved some sort of long winded story. Sirius continued to maintain my eye contact until I broke it when I heard someone calling my name. Turning I saw two of my favourite people; Edward and Jacob.

"Hi guys" I said, beaming at them. I was very glad of their arrival, and I hoped they would remove me from the awkward situation I currently found myself in. They both rose their eyebrows at me and my enthustiastic greeting. I just rolled my eyes as I smiled.

"We were just going to the library, thought we would ask you" Jacob said, apparently amused by my greeting. I shot up.

"Sure" I said, very, very enthustiastically. Both of them now looked suspicious.

"Do you have to go?" Fiona and James whined. I turned to look at them, both had pleading looks on their faces.

"Yeah, I have...erm...some work to do" I lied, having done all my work earlier during a few of my frees. Fiona frowned at me, clearly not buying it.

"The library?". I focused my eyes on Chloe who was sitting there smirking away, clearly mocking me.

"Why don't you shut it Baker" Fiona snapped suddenly. I stared at Fiona. I knew she disliked the girl but she had never voiced this. Chloe glared at her,

"Why don't you make me Shorts" she sneered, looking extremely unattractive.

"I think you should keep your dog on the lead Black" Fiona said icily, before grabbing her stuff and stalking out of the Great Hall. James looked torn for a minute before he too upped and left, as did Remus and Alice. Lily had turned round during the whole interaction and now she rose from the table, grabbing Luke. I hurridly spun round and grabbed Edward and Jacob, seeing if I could spot any sign of Fiona.

"We're going to the library. I think Fi went outside" Lily said jabbing her thumb in the direction of the doors.

"Thanks Lily" I told her as I stopped by the doors. I then turned to Jacob and Edward. I opened my mouth to speak when they got in their first.

"I think you should go talk to Fiona. We'll talk to you later" Edward said, a little bit shocked.

"Thanks guys" I said to them before hurrying outside. Looking round, it was pitch black, and I squinted as I tried to see any sign of movements. Luckily for me, my eyes adjusted relatively quickly, and I managed to find four figures standing not too far away. I walked over to them at a normal pace and I could see Fiona's extremely angry face. I stood between James and Remus as Fiona paced, muttering.

"She's never, ever called him 'Black'" James muttered to me as we watched her. She carried on pacing until she suddenly halted to a stop and then marched up to James.

"What the hell is he playing at getting all friendly with _her_?" she asked, hands on hips.

"I really don't know" he said with a sigh, apparently slightly frustrated by this.

"But he tells you everything!" Fiona exclaimed, eyes wide. James merely shrugged. Fiona looked at him for a little while longer with a slight pitying look on her face before turning her attention to the rest of us.

"I thought you were going to the library?" she asked me, crossing her arms.

"I thought your needs were greater than mine" I replied, grinning. She just rolled her eyes before smiling.

"Come on then, its freezing out here, lets go back up to the common room" Remus interjected, ever the sensible one. I nodded, yet Fiona seemed slightly hesitant about going.

"You go, I'll catch you up" she said, turning and looking out into the black night. I thought that maybe it would be best if we left her for a while and so looked at the others before beginning to walk back inside.

As we walked I could feel the familiar sensation of frustration pulling at me. My hand being in the splint meant that I was unable to 'shift' as it could further damage my hand. I wasn't used to going this long without letting myself change; it helped me to relieve any tensions. Human emotions were complex and when I shifted into my panther form things were slightly easier to deal with, including frustration.

"You okay?" I heard Remus ask. I turned to see him frowning at me.

"Yeah I'm fine" I replied, attempting a smile. He didn't look too convinced but didn't pursue the matter. As we rounded the corner of the second corridor we found ourselves looking at a rather awkward sight. Sirius had managed to find himself backed into a corner (quite literally) with Chloe Baker standing extremely close in front of him. Everyone stopped walking and I heard Remus clear his throat, folding his arms as he done so. Chloe spun round but didn't shift her position and Sirius looked suprisingly relieved.

"And here I was thinking broom cupboards were your thing Pad" James commented, rather sarcastically. Him and Remus had both moved so that they were standing slightly in front of myself and Alice, and I turned to latter now as she just shook her head at the comment last said. Hearing a high pitched giggle I looked in the direction of the corner to see that it was apparently Chloe who had emitted the noise. She had moved away from Sirius a little and had now placed a perfectly manicured hand on his arm. Looking towards Sirius I could see him give a sheepish grin, his eyes stopping on their travels when they met my own. I quickly looked away, instead chosing to focus my gaze on one of the many portraits lining the hall.

"Change is always a good thing" I heard him remark. His comment sounded....somewhat odd and sincere, and it was this that made me look at him once again. Sirius was looking right at me, a slight frown on his face. My breath caught, although I'm not too sure why and I found that I couldn't look away. I don't how long our eyes held each other but I was broken out of this strange trance by James.

"Earth to Pad..hellooo" his voice echoed along the corridor. I jumped ever so slightly and looked at James, watching as his eyes flickered between me and Sirius.

"You called?" Sirius replied, and I could sense the grin on his face. I looked at James as he just grinned back and rose his eyebrows, looking very much like Fiona in that minute.

"Erm, I said I'd go see Jacob and Edward in the library" I said suddenly, getting the feeling that things were about to get very awkward. Everyone spun to look at me and I tried not to focus my eyes on one particular person.

"I'll walk you over there" Alice replied, a smile on her face.

"You really don't have to Alice" I told her, a slight frown on her face.

"Really, I insist" she carried on saying. Her tone gave the impression there was no two ways about it and so I just shrugged as she smiled sweetly.

"See you back in the common room" Alice called out as the two of us turned and walked in the opposite direction from the boys. Call it a hunch, but I got the impression she wanted to talk to me.

**Alice's POV**

Standing there watching the looks being exchanged between Ally and Sirius made me think that there was most definently something going on.

"Now _what_ is going on between you two?!" I exclaimed as we slowly made our way over to the library. Her steps slowed suddenly as she took in my question.

"With who?" Ally replied, trying to hold back the smile on her face. I sighed and rolled my eyes, shoving her slightly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about" I told her, shaking my head as I done so. She shrugged before replying,

"Alice, you're with me nearly every second of every day. Don't you think you would know if there was something going on?" she questioned. I frowned, knowing that she had me there. I opened my mouth to reply but then shut it again, and I could see her grin from the corner of my eye.

"I've seen the way you look at each other though" I continued, knowing that I had a very good and real point with this one. She blushed and I could see that I had her.

"Whatever do you mean by that comment?" Ally asked me, although not making eye contact with me at all. I couldn't help but let out an exhasperated sigh.

"Are you kidding me?! Do I need to even remind you of what just happened before we left?!" I exclaimed, now folding my arms to further scrutanise Ally. I could see her shoulders drop, apparently having let out a sigh. I continued to watch her as she opened her mouth and then shut it again. It seemed she wouldn't talk about it anymore and I left it, making a mental note to talk to Fiona about this later.

**Ally's POV**

I didn't say anything more on the matter, instead allowing the silence to engulf us. I allowed my mind to wander back to the occassions where Fiona and Lizzy had spoken to me about it all. In truth, the subject hadn't really been approached over the last month, and I hadn't really spoken to Sirius a lot. Everywhere he went, Baker went with him. And it seemed that she liked glaring at me whenever the oppertunity came about. It seemed that Alice was reflecting on her own thoughts as we finally arrived at the library.

"Coming in?" I asked her, stopping just short of the doors. She shook her head, a small smile on her face as she done so,

"I think I'll pass on it actually" Alice replied, a little sarcastically.

"I'll see you back up in the common room then" I told her as I headed into the quiet depths of the library.

I eventually found Jacob and Edward and I just sat there reading while they done a bit of their homework. We weren't in there very long and we left little over an hour after I had arrived, the two of them insisting on walking me back up to the common room. Seeing as it was a Friday night, I was unsuprised by the level of noise that hit me when after walking in. Scanning round the many people crammed in, I managed to find Alice and Fiona sitting in the corner by the window. As I walked closer I watched as they both grinned widely, Fiona telling Alice something.

"What are you two planning?" I asked as I stood behind them, grinning as they both jumped at the sound of my voice.

"Nothing, nothing" Fiona replied hastily, as she moved up to allow some space for me to sit down. I just looked at her and she took on her innocent look I had seen her adopt a few times before. I just sighed and shook my head, although I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Where's Lily?" I asked the two of them, only now just noticing that we were one person down.

"I thought she was in the library with Luke?" Fiona queried, looking at me.

"I was just down there and didn't see her" I replied with a shrug as Alice grinned. Fiona rose her eyebrows at her as if signalling for her to go on.

"That was what they _said_" Alice told us, saying her sentence slowly. My eyes widened slightly as I saw where she was headed with this.

"Ohhhhh" Fiona replied, a fraction of a second after it had just clicked with me and she smiled quickly.

"Like we couldn't see that one coming" she said, although she frowned after a few more seconds.

"James won't be ecstatic" Fiona commented, looking round the common room.

"Speaking of who, where is he?" I asked, copying Fiona and looking round the many people currently occupying the room. Turning back to the two girls I could see them both grinning at me and I was slightly confused by this.

"What?" I asked slighty cautiously.

"Wondering _just_ where James is?" Fiona asked, a little sarcastically. It didn't take me long to realise what she was getting at and I just rolled my eyes.

"Yes, just where _James_ is seeing as he came up in conversation" I replied, putting large emphasise on 'James'.

"Talking about me? Can't say I'm too suprised by that".

Looking up I could see James with Remus and Sirius either side of them. All three grinning down at us.

"So why were you talking about me?" he asked, looking towards me. I just smiled sweetly up at him.

"You just came up in conversation is all" I told him, avoiding the Lily-Luke conversation as Fiona had said she didn't think he would take it well. James just looked at me, obviously not believing a word I was saying.

"It's lucky you're in a sling" he said, a little cockily. I frowned at him, clearly not understanding what he meant.

"Otherwise, you would be dying from laughter and telling me exactly why you were talking about me" James continued, in a dark voice. I rolled my eyes at him as he nudged Fiona over so he could sit down inbetween the two of us. It was a tight squeeze, and looking up at Remus and Sirius I could see matching grins appear.

"Oh no no no" Fiona said hurridly, shaking her head. Unfortunately, it was too late by then as Remus sat himself down in between me and Alice, causing us all to bunch up. This left Sirius standing and he made his way over to where Fiona was sitting.

"Get away Black" she spat out, evidently not very happy. Sirius stopped in his tracks, eyes wide in suprise. Clearly he was still not in Fiona's good books.

"Sirius!" a high pitched voice squealed, and I was able to make out the sound of quick footsteps approaching us. The first sign I saw of Baker was her hands appearing round Sirius' middle. He spun round quickly, which apparently pleased Chloe further as she giggled, moving her hands so that they were round his neck.

"Er, Chloe" Sirius said a little awkwardly, taking a step back. She now came into view, and rather unfortunately she spotted us sitting on the sofa. Chloe didn't look very happy at all, glaring at us.

"Let's go somewhere else" she suggested in her high pitched voice, tugging at his arm. He pulled it free and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Not tonight" was his short reply, eyes scanning round the room, clearly avoiding eye contact at all costs. I frowned and looked at James, who had a smug smile on his face. Alice and Remus didn't look too suprised by his reaction, and I had a feeling when she left me, she walked back to the boys. Obviously they knew something me and Fiona didn't, as Fiona also had a confused look on her face.

"Come on Sirius" Chloe carried on, her voice now taking on a moaning tone. Clearly she wasn't giving up with him. But Sirius didn't seem like he was going to give in, and he shook his head.

"Come on Chloe, give it a break will you" he said, his voice really quite loud. Chloe looked very taken aback by this comment and she made a huffing sound before glaring ferociously at me, Fiona and Alice and stomping off. No-one said anything and Sirius still wasn't looking at us, instead his eyes following Chloe's movements.

"Took you long enough" Fiona commented somewhat icily, frown still on her face. He turned to look at her, a sheepish smile on his face as he shrugged. I watched as Fiona opened her mouth to say something before James got their first.

"Leave it Fi" he muttered very, very quietly. I was only able to pick it up because he was sitting next to me. Sirius just looked at the two of them and he seemed a little tense waiting for Fiona's reaction. She frowned for a second longer before just shrugging and Sirius grinned broadly at her before sitting down on the ground.

"And where is the delightful Evans this evening?" James asked, making an attempt to move conversation on. But the question he asked was the one we had been hoping to avoid.

"Just the library" Alice told him from the other end of the sofa, a very abrupt tone to her voice.

"Still?" James questioned, consulting my watch. I nodded, hoping he would leave it, and thankfully he did just that as he just frowned and shook his head.

"So what shall we do then?" he asked, voice brightening at the prospect of the evening ahead.

"How about a nice relaxing evening?" Alice put forward, and looking round Remus I could see a slight smile on her face.

"B-o-r-i-n-g" Sirius proclaimed, a lazy smile on his face.

"Wow" Fiona said, and I turned to see her eyes wide.

"What?" Sirius replied, looking extremely confused.

"You can spell!" Fiona exclaimed cheekily, poking her tongue out at him.

"Are you looking for an outbreak of war?" Sirius replied, a mischievious glint appearing in his eyes. Having only been here a month I had already learnt that this was never a good thing. Fiona didn't reply, instead chosing to get her wand out and summoning a cushion which whacked the back of Sirius' head. Uh oh. Cushions and me didn't get on well. Sirius threw it back at Fiona. but due to our very squashed up positions on the sofa it ended up hitting Fiona and James. James threw it back at him and soon the three of them were grabbing any available cushions and whacking each other with them. Thankfully, this meant that Fiona and James had gotten up off of the sofa so there was now plenty of room for me, Remus and Alice.

"Have you heard that they've moved the date of the match?" Remus asked the both of us. I frowned, thinking back to previous conversations with Jacob, Edward and Will, sure that none of them had mentioned it.

"No, why?" I asked him, curious as to know to answer. He looked at me, as though surpised that I didn't know.

"I have no idea, all I know is that they've moved it forward to next week" Remus answered with a shrug. I looked over at Alice and she just shook her head indicating that she didn't know either. Hmmm, strange that nobody had mentioned anything. I made a mental note to ask one of the three tomorow or something but my thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of somebody. Not in the usual form though. As I was sitting there making my mental note I caught the sight of Frank coming towards us. However, with Fiona James and Sirius having a cushion fight, Frank tripped and flew through the air landing at Alice's feet. She grinned looking down on him.

"Wow, the phrase 'I like my men at my feet' springs to mind" Alice said cockily, at which point Frank had turned red and Remus gave him a hand up. He looked very embaressed and Remus budged me up so that he could sit down next to Alice. An awkward silence passed and I could see Frank fiddling with a hole in his jumper out of the corner of my eye. I looked at Remus who just grinned at me and shook his head almost telling me not to talk. I frowned at him and his grin just broadened, instead moving his gaze to the trio rolling around on the floor. The silence continued and I could feel the awkwardness of the situation rising. I nudged Remus awkwardly and just stared at him. He sighed before speaking,

"So Ally, how's the hand?" Remus asked me, extremely dramtically. Again I found myself just staring at him, and he encouraged me on,

"Yeah, it's...erm....okay I guess" I replied slightly hesitantly, still casting Remus quizzical looks. It seemed his method had worked though as Frank and Alice began talking and Remus leaned in towards me,

"And you thought I was being weird" he commented and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the weekend passed quickly, as did Monday during school. Before I knew it I found myself at dinner with the girls after a long day.

"Cor, I do envy you two" Susan said as she sat herself down being the last one to arrive.

"And why would that be?" Lily asked with a small frown on her face. Susan just nodded her head in the direction of the staff table and me and Lily both turned to look. Just approaching was Professor Ford, and he sat down quickly before piling up his plate. Lily giggled before turning her attention back to everyone else. I simply rolled my eyes, and Lizzy who saw the action just grinned at me.

"So why are you so late down then?" Fiona asked, having just finished eating. Susan shrugged, mouth full of food. Being a girl, she had the decency to wait until she swallowed before replying.

"Got caught up after class" she told us and Fiona just nodded before looking round the Great Hall.

"Right I have a bit of homework to do so I'm going to go up to the library, Ally?" Lily asked, grabbing her stuff as well as mine. I just smiled, knowing that she most probably already knew the answer. I began to stand and we waved the others good bye as we trudged up to the library to do our work.

We ended up being in the library for quite some time, but I got bored after a while. Looking down at my watch it was now seven and I decided to stop for the night, besides, quite a bit of my homework wasn't due in until much later in the week. I told Lily I'd meet her back up in the common room and she told me to leave my bag with her, especially seeing as I would struggle with. I didn't argue with her, knowing that I would lose. I walked slowly up to the common room and when I finally arrived I clearly stated the password,

"Pumpkin Pies". I stood there and waited as the Fat Lady shook her head. It took me a few more seconds before it clicked and I groaned. The password had been changing almost daily and it seemed that I had been unlucky enough to now be locked out. I began muttering random words under my breath until someone joined me.

"Locked out are we?". Spinning round I saw Sirius sauntering towards me, shirt hanging out and hair extremely messy. I nodded in response and he chuckled.

"Pumpkin pies" he said confidently. I just grinned as he didn't get anywhere.

"You were saying?" I asked him, as he frowned and looked very confused. He shook his head as he took a step back and sighed.

"Looks like we're stuck out here then" Sirius said, throwing me his crooked smile. It was these smiles that made me feel like I was the only one who had seen them; like they were specially for me. Our eye contact held for a moment before I broke it, my face feeling hot. I heard him shuffle his feet a little, as I looked down at my own feet.

"So, erm, did you have a good day?" I heard him ask and I looked up to see him, a small frown on his face although he tried to change it into a smile.

"Yeah it was okay really how about yours?" I returned his question, hoping that he would go into a bit of detail.

"The usual, I mean it is school after all" he said with a shrug, grinning at me. Regardless of anything else I couldn't help but smile back at him, and his grin in turn widened. A few moments of silence passed before he opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again before shaking his head.

"What?" I asked him slightly amused by his actions. He looked up at me and again opened his mouth to say something before seemingly changing direction,

"No, no it's nothing" Sirius replied, although he was still shaking his head.

"Go on" I encouraged him, intrigued to know what he wanted to ask. He hesitated once again, before speaking.

"It's really none of my business though" he told me, and he now moved his eyes up to my own. I frowned a little, my curiosity peaking.

"I just wondered what...erm..was going on between you and Masters is all" Sirius said at last, looking down at the ground. I was slightly suprised by his question and it took me a while to answer.

"Oh, well nothing. Apart from us being friends and all" I told him slowly, watching his reaction. He looked up and carried on frowning until his expression slowly cleared. He smiled at me before taking a step closer.

"Do you, er, want anything to happen?" he questionsed slightly hesitantly. The step he had taken towards me, meant that we were standing very close together.

"We're just friends" I replied, again my answer coming very slowly. His smile broadened as he took another small step towards me. He was standing so close by this point that I had to actually look up at him, the top of my head reaching under his chin. I could see a glint of amusement in his eyes as they met my own.

"Just friends?" he questioned his voice extremely soft, his breath tickling my cheeks. My breath hitched and I found that I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"Just friends" I finally managed to say. I saw Sirius give me his lopsided smile and my mind momentarily went blank. He slowly lifted one of his hands up to my face, his finger running along my left cheek with the scar. He frowned as he felt it but said nothing as his fingers moved under my chin tipping it slightly further. My heart was thundering and I was suprised he couldn't hear it as he moved his face ever closer to mine, our breaths beginning to merge. His lips were a hairs bredth away from mine and coming ever closer, his cologne gaining in strength, almost filling my body...

"Sirius! There you are!" He closed his eyes as he cursed under his breath, before opening them and almost reluctantly stepping away from me. My mind returned to me fully in that second as I thought about how close we had been to kissing. I also took a step back feeling the cold air of the corridor fully hitting me, not having realised how he had been almost keeping me warm. He turned his head and groaned as he saw who it was. On further inspection I found the person to be Chloe, a frown now appearing on her face.

"What are you doing just standing around out here?" she asked suspiciously. A hand flew to his hair as Sirius responded,

"Don't know the new password" he told her, his voice sounding breathless. Chloe's frown intensified as she looked at me, eyebrows knitted together.

"Hallow's Eve" she announced warily, the portrait swinging open. I stepped inside quickly, not wanting to stick around. However I didn't move fully into the common room just yet. I stopped in the short passage, leaning against the wall, allowing my heart to slow. I stayed there for half a minute before I walked in and I walked absently towards the stairs of the dormitory when I was hailed.

"Ally!" I heard Fiona exclaim. I stopped in my tracks and saw that she was sitting on her own, a book on her lap. I momentarily stopped, taking in the very the very strange sight before I wound my way over there sitting down on the sofa next to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, a slight frown on her face.

"Fine" I answered quickly. Too quickly.

"Yeah, because purple is such a normal eye colour" she said sarcastically rolling her eyes. I sighed as I realised she was right; I was lying through my teeth.

"Come on what's up?" Fiona asked, putting her book to the side and shifting her body round to properly face me. I leaned back on the sofa wondering whether I should tell her or not.

"It's.." I started, although I trailed into nothing. Fiona nodded her head encouraging me on.

"Ahh come on, you're killing me here!" she exclaimed nudging me slightly. I shot her a weak smile which she returned with full force. It was at this time when the portrait opened again and Sirius walked in, closely followed by Chloe who didn't look at all happy. Sirius immediately looked up in our direction and grinned at us, causing me to blush profously. I looked back at Fiona who was now looking between the two of us and I could almost hear the clogs turning.

"What's happened between you two?" she asked, and I could detect the enthusiasm underlining her voice.

"We, erm. Well we kinda got stuck outside the common room. And we were talking and then he asked me about Will and if I wanted anything to happen and then, erm.." I began and I could see Fiona's eyes widen.

"Did you...?" she asked, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Nearly" I admitted, blushing again. Fiona gasped and I looked up to see her beaming at me.

"NO WAY!" she yelled out, causing a lot of people to turn and look in our direction. I whacked her with my good arm.

"Fiona! Please, promise me you won't tell anyone else?" I asked her, feeling very embaressed by this point.

"But this is major!" she proclaimed, beaming at me.

"Nothing happened!" I exclaimed but she just shook her head at me.

"But it nearly did!" she argued back, sounding very pleased with this fact. I sighed and sunk back on the sofa, prepared for a long night.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The previous night had been a long one with Fiona going on about what had nearly happened between me and Sirius quite a lot. Thankfully she was cut short when Alice and Lily arrived back, and I cast her a warning look which silenced her. Alice and Lily had been silghtly suspicious and Fiona looked like she would burst any minute so I ended up going to bed early. The others followed me up soon enough and I heard them whispering but it seemed that Fiona had kept her promise and not told them.

As per usual I woke up after Lily today, bang on seven o'clock. Our morning consisted of the same routine as usual as I walked down the dormitory stairs where I could hear Remus and Lily talking. As I walked into the common room they both smiled at me, although the smile Remus gave me was more of a grin. I hesitated in my steps for a moment, before continuing to walk normally, earning a suspicious look from Lily.

"Good morning Ally" Remus greeted brightly....very brightly. I just looked at him for a few seconds before replying with the same comment.

"Breakfast then?" he continued, gesturing to myself and Lily to begin to walk. I just rolled my eyes as I walked hastily out of the common room and on my way down to breakfast, Lily and Remus following behind.

Breakfast was slightly awkward, as you can imagine. Remus grinning at me constantly, left me with the impression that Sirius had told him what had happened. I had the feeling that Lily was slightly supsicious of Remus' actions but didn't say anything. Instead she chose to watch the door and I'm guessing that she was waiting for Luke to come down.

"He won't be down for a while yet you know" I told her, after she began to tire me out with her constant head turning. She looked at me with a slight frown on her face.

"Who won't?" she asked, although it was a little hesitantly.

"Luke" I replied simply, and my one word answer had the desired effect: she blushed deeply. It didn't look like I would get a reply soon and so I settled to finishing up my breakfast. It didn't take me too long and I thought over the classes I had today whilst Remus and Lily talked about various things of which I was only half paying attention to. My mind occupied elsewhere...

"Morning". I looked behind me to see Will standing there, large smile on his face. Will was one of those people who had an infectious smile, and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Good morning" I replied happily. I watched as he smiled at both Lily and then Remus, his smile faltering a little at the latter. He seemed to hover behind me, and I turned to look at Remus who had a slight frown on his face.

"Why don't you sit with us Will?" I asked, turning back to him with a smile on my face. He hesitated but I carried on smiling widely at him, and it seemed he relented as he gave me a weak smile back.

"Yeah okay then" he finally agreed, sitting next to me, as far away from Remus as possible. It was slightly comical as he avoided eye contact with him at all costs while he piled the food onto his plate. I was about to try and ease his uncomfort when we were joined by Alice and Fiona, both looking very sleepy.

"Morning" Fiona greeted us with a sleepy smile, her eyes taking in everyone. They stopped on Will and she looked back at me, eyebrows raised. I shook my head at her as if to say 'what' but she just shrugged and began to pile up her plate with an amazing amount of food. I just rolled my eyes, and I saw Will look a little suprise by her actions. Chatter began to pick up again, and I could see Remus and Fiona throw me a few looks every now and then while I was talking to Will.

It was nearing the end of breakfast when the rest of the Marauders joined us. Fiona kicked me under the table and I sharply turned my head to moan at her. Before I could say anything though, she nodded her head further up the table where Sirius had just clocked Will. He had a slight frown on his face and I could see his eyes flicker between the two of us. His frown remained in place as he continued walking towards us, although he didn't say anything. Sirius caught me looking at him, and it was as if he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. I blushed a little as I turned away, not before catching him grinning though. Will just looked at me, but obviously decided not to pursue the subject.

"I'd better run, I've got Transfiguration first. I'll see you round?" Will said, rather abruptly.

"Yeah sure" I replied, smiling at him. He returned it and began to walk out of the Hall before he was hailed by some of his other friends.

"Right, I guess we'd better go too" Fiona said, as soon as Will had left. I frowned at her but she just gave a very slight shake of her head.

"I might wait for the others" Lily told her, a little bit distracted by a certain someone who had just walked in. Fiona rolled her eyes as she began to get up, me following her lead.

"Coming Alice?" Fiona asked her, but she just shook her head.

"I'll wait for Lily" she replied, a small grin on her face. Fiona turned and looked to where the Marauders were sitting with Frank. Again, Fiona rolled her eyes as the two of us began to walk out of the Hall and in the direction of the dungeons.

We walked in relative silence until we were well on our way to the dungeons.

"" Fiona demanded, although I could see a trace of a smile on her face.

"Explain what?" I asked her innocently.

"Again, purple" she commented lazily, as I watched her eyes flicker to my own. I sighed and she nudged me slightly.

"So really, what's up?" she asked, a little more laid back this time though.

"Nothing! Will's my friend. I'm allowed to ask him to sit with us am I not?" I asked her. I could see I had her with this point as she just rose her eyebrows at me and then shook her head.

"'Course you are" Fiona told me, smile on her face.

"Exactly" I replied cheekily, and I could almost read her mind. She went to whack my arm and I used my Etoileige abilities to skip ahead of her.

"Hey, no fair!" she moaned, beginning to run slightly to catch up with me. I laughed as I let her do so, although keeping an eye out for any signs of abuse. Luckily, Fiona didn't try anything else as we continued on our journey down to class.

We didn't have to hang around for too long until the rest of our class began to arrive, and none too soon Professor Slughorn was ushering us into class. The room normally smelt a little damp, with the faint smell of pineapple but today was different. As I walked in, a mixture of different smells hit me. The first, most powerful one was that of the seaside. I could smell the fresh, salty air. I inhaled deeply, the smell reminding me of home. However, as I moved further into the room I began to pick up on a variety of different smells. I sat at my desk and tried to work out what they were. The second most powerful I managed to work out in the next few seconds was vanilla - I absoloutly loved the smell. I was just thinking this when I managed to distinguish the next one; it was the fresh smell you got after it had just been raining. A smell I had always come to associate with England.

"Can you smell that?" Fiona murmured beside me. I jumped, as I had temporarily forgotten where I was.

"Yeah, all my favourite smells" I told her, now looking around as everyone looked a little puzzled.

"I can smell all of my favourite smells!" Fiona exclaimed. I frowned, and looked around, only now spotting the cauldrons on the Professor's desk. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the content in one of those. I looked around to see if I could see Lily (no doubt she would know something about them) but couldn't spot her among the numerous amount of people still standing. I looked over at Fiona who still had a slightly puzzled expression, and so I decided to leave her to her thoughts. As I inhaled deeply again I caught another smell, although it was more faint than the others. I frowned trying to work out what it was. It was oddly familiar, something I had smelt recently. It was.........My expression cleared as I realised what it was. At that same time I blushed, the thought alone making the blood rush to my cheeks.

"Right class settle down" Professor Slughorn began as people finally began to sit down and get their stuff out. He began to chuckle at the odd expressions of many of my classmates.

"So, who can tell me what you're all smelling then?" he asked, looking round at all of us. One, lone hand shot up in the air. Professor Slughorn smiled as he saw who it was, and nodded in their direction.

"I'm going to go with Amortentia. It has a different smell for everyone who smells it, reminding each individual person of the thing they like the most, or find most attractive" Lily whittled off quickly. I blushed again at her words, thinking of the scent which had somehow grown in strength.

"What's up?" Fiona whispered to me, as Professor Slughorn asked Lily how she recognised it.

"I can smell...." I began, hesitating slightly.

"Everyone can smell Ally" she joked, poking her tongue out at me. I just shook my head as she nudged me in the ribs to continue.

"I can smell HIM'"


	14. Thunder Storms

**A/N: Another one has arrived! Thankyou once again to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciated all of the comments that you leave me =) I've had to take it easy these last few days as I had a slight tumble down the stairs resulting in bruising up the left side of my back so I've been able to do a bit more writing thna usual. However, mocks are coming up so I don't know when I'll get the chance to post the next installment but I promise you I shall try to do it as soon as I can. So on with the story...**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is regretfully not mine...**

**Ally's POV**

Fiona didn't actually look too suprised when I told her that.

"Can't say I'm too suprised". So my suspicions were correct.

"Although, I did have a feeling it might have been Will" she admitted with a slight shrug.

"I told you we were just friends!" I exclaimed as we began to start on our potion.

"I wasn't too sure. But I guess after yesterday..." she trailed off, a grin on her face. I blushed a little at the reminder and she grinned even wider. I chose not to reply, instead beginning to focus on what needed to be done. I guess Fiona saw this reflected in my eyes as she said nothing else and we dove into our work.

After Potions we had Herbology which went suprisingly quickly. It was a theory lesson which involved us taking numerous notes. The lesson wore on and before I knew it lunch arrived. Nothing of great interest happened at lunch, in fact it was rather quiet. It was as if everyone was immersed in their own thoughts. In no time at all I found myself standing outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, waiting to be permitted to enter. We stood around chatting as we waited, everyone seemingly avoiding the topic of our earlier potions class.

"Come in, come in" came the sound of Professor Hunt's voice suddenly. We all jumped at his voice but hurridly entered, taking our seats quickly. It was one of the few lessons where we could sit wherever we wanted, and I happened to sit inbetween Fiona and Alice.

"Right, today we're just going to go over the Patronus Charm quickly. I want you all to simply cast the spell" he said, being ever clear and to the point. I frowned a little, knowing that this was the one spell my left hand had trouble with. It would just require my full concentration. I watched as the rest of the class began to produce their patronus as Professor Hunt eventually reached the Marauders. I watched as James lazily flicked his wand, eyes on Lily as a huge stag appeared. Lily scowled, very clearly not happy. Sirius' took the form of a wolf, although it looked remarkably similar to a dog. Remus wasn't in class today, apparently he was suffering from a very bad cold and was in the Hospital Wing. I didn't pay much attention to the rest, instead trying to achieve a little focus. Soon enough, it was the turn of our row. Lily was first, and a doe appeared. I noted how hers and James' was remarkably similar. Fiona was next, hers taking the form of a rabbit. It was then my turn.

"Will you be okay to proceed Miss Turner?" Professor Hunt asked me. I frowned a little before replying.

"I'd like to try if it's okay sir?" I asked him politely and he nodded before indicating for me to go. I closed my eyes, focusing on a happy memory; one involving my parents. As I opened my eyes I could faintly see Professor Hunt's own eyes widen as I thought the incantation, _Expecto Patronum_ I all but shouted in my mind. I knew in the instance I had said the spell it would work, and sure enough it did. Only I was in for a suprise. Out of my wand burst a huge, shaggy dog.

**Sirius' POV**

Shocked could be an understatement.

"Pad, that's.....that's you!" James exclaimed from beside of me. His eyes wide. He was right, of course. The huge dog that Ally had just managed to conjour up was my animagus form. The spitting image. The dog then began to gamble about the classroom before eventually disappearing.

"Is there a problem Miss Turner?" Professor Hunt asked. From my position on the opposite side of the classroom I could see she was extremely confused.

"That's....that's not my usual patronus sir" she admitted, her voice coming slowly, just as it had done yesterday...My mind wandered slightly before I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present.

"What is your usual patronus then?" he asked her, and even he looked a little confused.

"A tiger" she admitted, a frown now appearing on her face.

"How? Maybe yesterday...?" James whispered beside me. I just shrugged, not knowing what the hell was going on. My mind reeled back to earlier today. Walking into potions the first thing I could smell was her. The sweet vanilla smell shocked every sense in my body. And now, her patronus apparently changing? I knew then, that there was one person I needed to see. Moony.

**Ally's POV**

Everyone was confused as to what could have caused my patronus to change. The rest of the lesson went by quickly and before I knew it we were on our way out. I watched as the Marauders almost ran past us, but I took little notice of it. I could hear the girls saying that they would be going up to the common room and so I just followed their lead.

"Strange thing to happen" I heard Lily comment from beside me. I turned in her direction to see a small frown on her face. I just shrugged, having no idea why this would happen.

"I'm sure Professor Hunt will figure out why though" she continued, taking my silence as a cue to go on.

"Guess so" I answered, still very puzzled about the whole situation. We walked the remainder of the way up to the common room in silence. Once up there, everyone settled themselves around the fire where the Marauders normally sat. I reluctantly made my way over to a spare table to begin on the homework we had just been set.

"Gee, Ally do you have to?" I could Fiona moan. I turned and just smiled at her.

"'Course I do" I told her, before plonking myself down and beginning to slowly pick my way through the many questions.

I worked rather slowly for me, and by the time dinner came round I still hadn't finished. I sighed as I shut it all and stood and stretched, my hand aching as I done so. This was nothing new for me and I followed the others down in the direction of the Great Hall for some food. It didn't take us too long before we were sat in the refreshingly warm Hall and I began to dish myself up some food, listening to random snippets of conversation.

"Someone looks preoccupied". I gathered this person was talking to me and I looked up to find both Edward and Jacob standing opposite me, smiles on their faces. I smiled at the two of them and just shrugged my shoulders. I gestured with my good hand for them to take a seat and they both done so, still looking at me.

"All because of the patronus huh?" Jacob asked, beginning to dish himself up a large quantity of food.

"You've heard?!" I exclaimed, extremely suprised by this. Both nodded their head and I sat their slightly shocked.

"Suprising how news travels" another easily recognisable voice added. I groaned, especially as I didn't need to look at the person to see who it was.

"So what's happened to change that?". I looked up to Luke, a small frown on his face as he took a seat next to Lily. Naturally, she blushed a little but didn't interrupt our conversation. From the corner of my eye I could tell that Fiona was looking at me. Or to be more precise, grinning at me.

"Nothing, nothing" I dismissed, but he didn't look too convinced. Thankfully he didn't pursue it and after a few more seconds of scrutiny he turned to Lily.

"Has anything really happened?" Edward leaned across the table and whispered. From being around him, I had noticed that Edward was an oddly perceptive person, picking up on small things in people. In response to his question I just shook my head, and even he didn't look too convinced.

"How's training going for this weekend?" I decided to ask him, moving conversation swiftly away from myself. Being a boy, this was the only cue he needed and both himself and Jacob launched into a fully fledged conversation of Quidditch needing very little input from me.

Dinner was slightly longer than usual due to Edward and Jacob going on about Quidditch. I was just about to leave when the enchanted ceiling in the Hall rumbled threateningly. Looking up I could see dark clouds surrounding the sky, looking like they would unleash their load anytime soon. I groaned inwardly, hoping and praying that there wouldn't be a storm tonight.

"Come on Ally, what's holding you up?" Fiona moaned, walking back towards and me and began pulling me forward.

"Sorry sorry" I replied, realising this was the second instance in a short period of time in which I had said the same word twice.

"I think there's a storm'a coming tonight" she said, in what I could only hazard as a guess, in a pirate voice. I couldn't help but smile at her as I shook my head and sighed.

"Oi, you're just as mad" Fiona commented.

"I beg to differ" I replied. Fiona opened her mouth to respond then shut it again.

"Okay, okay. You win this one. But next time you won't be as lucky" she told me, before beginning to skip ahead, laughing manically. I really did wonder about that girl sometimes.

We ended up the common room, but I didn't stay up too long. Instead I chose to go to bed relatively early, in the hope that I would be able to get some sleep before the storm kicked in. Suprisingly, as soon as my head hit the pillow I fell into a deep and undisturbed sleep. However, this didn't last too long as I was woken up at about 2.30am (according to my watch) by a raging and howling storm. The windows shook and the rain poured down as the lightening cracked seemingly right over head. My eyes were wide as I laid there, jumping every time the thunder sounded. It was something that greatly frightened me, especially after the accident. I laid in bed for as long as I possibly could but the noise in the dormitory was atrocious. Maybe because it was small. With this thought im mind I quietly slipped out of bed and put on a cardigan (the only thing I could really wear with my arm in a sling) and crept out the room. Walking down the stairs the noise seemed to dim a little, although it was still present. Turning the last corner of the stairs I saw that the common room was deserted, with the only source of light coming from the dying fire. I padded softly over to one of the big sofas, jumping slightly as a loud bang was emitted from the thunder. Thankfully, I had thought to bring a book with me, one of my favourites; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I slowly opened the book to the chapter I was on and began to read, trying to distract myself from the storm.

After an hour of trying and failing to do so, I gave up. The storm had died down slightly but the thunder and lightning was still there, still going. I sighed, after jumping for what seemed the hundredth time. I tried closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths in and out, trying to slow the pace of my fast, beating heart. This helped a little.......until the thunder sounded again. This was getting tiring, and I could feel my body craving sleep. I decided that it might help if I just shut my eyes for a bit, try and picture myself in a different situation. After what seemed like hours my eyes felt extremely heavy, and slowly the fire seemed to shrink....

**Sirius' POV**

Me and Prongs stumbled through the portrait at about half past four.

"Good night huh?" James commented, stretching as he looked round the common room. I was about to reply when I saw him frown and begin to walk over to the fireplace.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones up late" he said, a grin beginning to stretch on his face. Confused, I walked over to where he was standing and saw Ally curled up in a ball; shivering.

"What's she doing down here?" I asked, knowing that James obviously wouldn't know. He just shrugged as he continued to look at her.

"Shall we take her up?" he asked suddenly, looking up at me. Again I found myself frowning.

"What?" I questioned, failing to see where he was going with this. It was early in the morning meaning my brain failed to function.

"We can't just leave her down here shivering. And we can't take her up to her own dormitory..." James said slowly, nodding his head at me.

"Oh right, erm yeah I guess so" I replied, now beginning to move forward. Very gently I shifted her into my arms and slowly lifted her. Ally didn't move very much, just moving closer to me; towards the heat. I froze as she done so, not wanting her to wake up. I looked across at James who just stood there with a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes as I very carefully walked up the spiralling staircase in the direction of the dormitory. Once there I had to wait for Prongs to come up so he could open the door as we very quietly stalked in. The only bed occupied was Franks (Remus still 'ill' and Peter had decided to go for a 'run') and we carefully walked over to my bed. James lifted the covers off of my bed and I slowly placed her in, watching as she still shivered. Placing the covers over her I stepped back with a small sigh.

"Some things are worth waiting for" James whispered in a rare moment of apparent wisedom.

"Stop being soft Prongs" was all I replied, punching him lightly on the shoulder. He grinned at me before flopping on his own bed, and falling asleep almost straight away. I just shook my head as I threw myself down on Remus' bed, allowing sleep to over take me.

And I thought that would be it. But it wasn't. About half an hour later a pillow whacked my head. I groggily sat up, ready to kill the person who threw it.

"Pad she's still shivering" I could hear James whisper from the bed next to Remus'.

"What the...?" I asked, trailing off, yawning and running a hand through my hair.

"Ally's still shivering. She woke me up coughing" he continued, and as he said this I heard the coughing.

"What am I supposed to do?!" I exclaimed, extremely annoyed at being woken up.

"I don't know!" he responded. I sighed as I got up, and rummaged around in my trunk looking for a jumper or something. Finally I managed to find one of my old Quidditch jumpers, just a plain red hoodie with the Gryffindor crest in the corner. I quietly made my way over to where she sleeping and gently shook her, feeling her body shaking.

"Ally" I whispered gently.

**Ally's POV**

I could hear someone calling me and I slowly opened my eyes. I saw a pair of grey eyes looking at me in concern, before my eyes widened and I sat bolt upright. However, this seemed to be a bad thing to do as I began coughing.

"Me and James found you in the common room, brought you up here" Sirius explained to me, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Yup, and then you woke us up with your coughing" I could hear James' voice coming from close by. Faintly, I could see Sirius grin before turning his attention back to me. My eyes had begun adjusting well to the light and I was soon able to see he was holding something.

"Here, you're shivering like crazy" he said, extending his arm. On closer inspection I could see it was in fact a jumper and I very gratefully slipped it on. It was miles too big for me but I could feel the warmth it would give me.

"Thanks" I told him honestly, smiling at him. He returned it, giving me the crooked smile. I could feel my heart rate increase, and I broke eye contact quickly.

"Try and get some sleep" Sirius whispered, before I felt his weight leave the bed and I heard him flop down on the bed he had previously been on. I laid back down and snuggled down deep inside the bed. Still I couldn't really get warm and I felt the shivers begin again. I tried to stop myself from coughing by inhaling deeply. This was the wrong thing to do as the smell of Sirius hit me like a tonne of bricks and I exhaled quickly, letting the cough out with it. I laid stock still, waiting to see if I had woken anybody up but there was no movement or sound and so I turned onto my other side, my eyes open. I could see the outlines of the beds around Sirius' but nothing else. I sighed, trying to relax my body and stop it from shivering, but this seemed to only increase it. It was then that I heard it, a faint and soft whispering and then someone got up, making their way over to where I was. Looking up I could see the figure of Sirius standing over me, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. I didn't sit up, instead just looked at him from my position on my side.

"Ally you're freezing" he whispered, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm fine" I whispered back, clearly lying.

"Uh-huh, because warm people shiver all the time" James' sarcastic voice came from across the room. Sirius chuckled a little at this, before his eyes returned to my own and I could see a hesitant look cross his face.

"Erm, I thought maybe it might help if I er.." he began, and I stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. He ran a hand through his hair and to the back of his neck, and he looked a little uncomfortable.

"He got in with you" James whispered from across the room, and I could hear the amusement in his voice. I blushed deeply, and was extremely thankful it was dark. I watched as Sirius nodded, his eyes failing to meet my own.

"I...I'll be fine, really" I said, stuttering a little.

"Ally, your constant shivering and coughing is kinda loud and I'm shattered" James commented. I sighed a little, knowing he was right and I was being a pain.

"Then I'll just go back to my own dormitory" I told him, and actually began to get up.

"You'll wake Evans up" James stated matter-of-factly. I frowned.

"What?" I asked him, very confused.

"Evans is a light sleeper and you'll wake her up going in there now" he explained to me. I didn't even want to ask how he knew that, but I knew he was right. I didn't want to wake Lily up. What I hadn't realised was while me and James were conducting this conversation Sirius had moved to the other side of the bed and had pulled back the covers, although he was hesitating getting in.

"May I?" he asked, reminding me instantly of the time he had asked to hold my hand.

"Any time today" James intervened from across the room and I scowled at him, forgetting that he couldn't see. Very slowly I nodded my head, and I could feel Sirius' weight. Awkwardly I laid back down, not daring to move from my current position, feeling the shivering continue from when I had just sat up.

"You're still shivering" James called out from across the room, and I could hear Frank move in his bed.

"It's because I'm still cold" I hissed at him. I could hear him laugh a little at my snappy comment and I just sighed. Slowly, I turned on my side, facing Sirius. I could see him laying on his back, although his eyes were open. He glanced over at me as I shifted my position and sent me a lopsided smile. Again, I could feel my heart rate increase significantly, and was suprised he couldn't hear it. I watched as the covers moved slightly and a second later I felt his hand grab my own.

"You're a little warmer than usual but not like before" he told me with a slight frown, his thumb softly rubbing over my skin.

"I'm cold" I whispered back, and I could see him smile a little at this. Once I had spoken, he shuffled over a little bit so that he was lying directly next to me.

"Try and go to sleep" Sirius said softly, his voice having a nice soothing sound to it. Slowly I closed my eyes and allowed the sleep to overtake me.

I wasn't quite aware of where I was. All I knew was that I was warm and comfortable. I could hear no sound of movement around me, just the faint sound of soft breathing. My eyes weren't open but I could sense a faint light coming through the window. Slowly I became a little more aware of my position. I could feel a slight weight around my middle and by my ankles. There was also slight pressure on the top of my head. As I was thinking this through a sudden cough broke out. As I coughed, I could feel a soothing motion on my back, easing my coughs. It seemed a familiar sensation and slowly I felt a weight shift on the bed, and the warmth moved a little. Eyes still closed, I frowned a little and moved towards the warmth again. Faintly, I could hear someone chuckling and I opened my eyes a bit. I couldn't actually see a lot, just an expanse of black. I frowned and moved my head away, only then realising my exact position. It was Sirius. I froze in my movements, and again I heard him chuckle a little. Slowly I began to move my head away from his chest, although his arms remained where they were. I finally managed to find a position in which I could properly see him, his eyes finding my own.

"Morning" he said, his voice low and extremely husky.

"Erm, morning" I replied, making sure to keep my voice relatively quiet. Sirius just smiled at me, his eyes running over my face, stopping when they got to my left cheek.

"Ally?" he begun, keeping his voice low as he had done before.

"Yes?" I asked, slightly hesitantly. Our current position made me feel extremely awkward, and my heart was thundering away.

"How did you get your scar?" Sirius asked me, a frown appearing on his face. It was the one question I didn't want to face; I'd rather him ask me anything else than that one simple question. I ducked my head, not wanting to look at him.

"I....I don't want to talk about it" I whispered quietly, although I knew he'd be able to hear it. Gently, he rubbed my back which was extremely soothing.

"That's okay" he told me, and he pulled me a little closer to himself so that we were back in our original position. In that one moment I felt safe. His arms tightened round me and I just felt like nothing or no-one could hurt me. This thought alone scared me a little and I sighed deeply, trying to think of a way to get off of the subject.

"What time is it?" I asked him, not daring to move. He suddenly rolled me over and stretched across me to the bedside table.

"Seven forty five" Sirius replied lazily, now shifting so that he was laying on his side. This shift of position meant that I felt slightly less awkward, although I did realise that he still had one of his feet draped across my ankles. It only then registered exactly what he said.

"Seven forty five?!" I exclaimed, extremely loudly.

"Seven forty five" came a voice from the door. Looking round I could see Fiona with the largest grin on her face ever.

"Well, well, well....what do we have here?" she questioned as she walked further into the room. I blushed deeply at her words and slowly began to get up. Sirius realised this and helpfully removed his foot as I stood up from the bed and stretched with my one available hand. Turning, I saw Fiona's eyes widen extensively and I frowned at her extremely confused. She looked first at Sirius then at me, and then she repeated the movement. I looked at Sirius who looked a bit confused, turning his gaze to me. Then he looked at me and his mouth formed a small 'O'. He looked at Fiona and then a grin broke out on his face.

"Ally?" he asked, turning his attention back to me.

"Y-eees?" I replied, very hesitantly feeling that I was missing something.

"You can keep the jumper" he told me, his eyes holding a certain glint to them.

"Are you sure?" I asked him, a little beweildered by this whole conversation.

"Yup, definently" Sirius replied, sending me a crooked smile. I guess he knew I wouldn't be able to argue with him when he smiled at me like that, and so I left it.

"You. Out. Now" Fiona said shortly, coming forward and grabbing my only available hand.

"Thankyou" I called out over my shoulder as I was dragged out of the room by Fiona.

"I need to go get my book from downstairs Fiona" I moaned to her, and so she changed her course to the common room. It wasn't too empty, although the few people that were in there all stared at me.

"I'm missing something aren't I?" I asked her as I grabbed my book off the sofa. I turned to see her, a massive smile on her face.

"Absoloutly!" she exclaimed, but she didn't continue.

"Go on then" I told her with a slight sigh.

"He gave you THE jumper!" she all but shouted out. I looked down at the jumper that I had on but was still non-plussed.

"I don't get it" I admitted and I could see the excitement in her eyes.

"Basically. Sirius has given you his Quidditch jumper. Do you realise how many girls have wanted that?! Boys only give their _girlfriends_ their Quidditch stuff. It's like a statement of your relationship". Her words had the desired effects. I blushed and my eyes widened. Although as this happened I saw her frown a little.

"Your eyes..." she began, trailing off. I was now even more confused, and she just shook her head.

"Nothing" Fiona said then, and looked at me expectantly.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU END UP IN HIS BED....WITH HIM?!" she shouted out. Now we had the attention of the few people in the common room.

"Fiona! Time and place! Not it!" I exclaimed, not quite matching her loud tone.

"Oh yeah" she replied sheepishly, casting a look around the common room before grabbing my arm and pulling me up the stairs. Once up there she hurridly shoved me on my bed and shut the door before joining me, jumping awkwardly onto the bed as well.

"Come on, come on spill!" Fiona said excitedly, eyes wide and she began to move herself a little further forward.

"Well," I begun but I was interrupted by the door being flung open.

"YOU TWO NEED TO GET A MOVE ON!" Lily all but shouted, hair looking thoroughly ruffled.

"Gee, we have plenty of time Lils" Fiona said, now laying down on the bed.

"That's besides the point you still-" Lily started rambling on until she froze mid-sentence. Her eyes widened and she now moved forward and took a seat on the bed.

"Who....gave you _that_?" she asked me. I frowned before realising what she was on about; I was still wearing Sirius' Quidditch jumper.

"Erm, Sirius" I admitted, my voice quiet.

"Black?!" she exclaimed loudly, and I looked up to see her in slight shock.

"That is who people generally refer to when they say 'Sirius'" Fiona commented sarcastically, and I could see her voice held a slightly amused quality.

"He really gave it to you?" Lily asked, a little sceptically.

"Yeah, he did" I answered her honestly and I watched as her eyes widened for the second time.

"But, this is the first time he's done it!" she proclaimed loudly, turning to Fiona who nodded accordingly. A silence passed and my body reacted to try and ease the awkwardness now settling. My cough started up and it was now starting to hurt my throat.

"How'd you manage to get that then?" Lily asked wearily, casting an eye over me. I shrugged before answering.

"I guess from falling asleep in the common room". I could see Lily frown at this latest piece of news like she was a bit confused.

"But you weren't down there this morning" she said slowly, as if trying to find the missing link.

"Thats kind of because Sirius and James found me down there and put me up in their dormitory" I admitted, watching her reaction carefully. She sighed but said nothing else, instead shifting herself off of the bed.

"Now, unless you want to go to lessons like that, I suggest the two of you GET DRESSED" she yelled the end part of her sentence and we both jumped up and ran for the bathroom. I cast a glance at Fiona and could see her eyes widen in ackowledgment,

"Oh no no no" she sighed wearily before she gave up. I smiled happily to myself before getting ready.

The rest of the day passed quickly with nothing major happening. Wednesday evening came, followed closely by Thursday and Friday. Before I knew it Saturday had dawned bright and early and as I laid in bed waking up, I realised it was the day of the Quidditch game, which meant it was the day of the party. I shot up in bed, thinking about what on earth I would wear. I may not have been here long, but I knew that if I had been invited to the party by Will Masters, a lot of people would be looking at me. I groaned as I looked at my clock. Seven?! What kind of dodgey time was that to wake up on a Saturday?! I sunk back onto my bed, carefully positioning my hand but I got bored after a while. I sat up again and looked out of the window to be greeted by a relatively cloudless sky. It would make watching the game much easier. I decided to get up and was hit by a blast of cold air. I was wearing only my pyjama trousers and a vest top and so instantly began shivering, as well as the cough being sounded. I tried to hold it but knew I'd have no chance, so I grabbed the first thing I could find before going quickly but quietly out of the dormitory. I shoved the jumper on as quickly as my hand would allow and walked swiftly down the stairs, coughing violently as I went.

"I think maybe a glass of water?". Looking up from my position on the last stair I could see Remus sitting wearily by the fire, smiling up at me. I returned his smile as I made my way over to him, watching as he conjoured up a glass which he proceeded to fill with water.

"Thanks" I told him, before taking the offered glass and downing it quickly. The coolness of it really helped my throat and I felt a little better. I looked up at him to see him grinning broadly at me. I frowned at him, before he decided to help me out.

"Nice jumper" he commented. I looked down to see that I was wearing the jumper Sirius had given me. Hmm, I wondered why it was so big when I first put it on. I couldn't think of a suitable reply for Remus so instead I settled on just a smile as I made myself a little more comfortable onto the sofa.

"How are you feeling anyway?" I asked, taking in his appearance. He looked a little worse for wear, his skin a little more pale than usual. Other than that there was still a certain glint in his eye.

"Yeah, I'm okay" Remus replied, a slight sigh coming through in his voice. I nodded, although I felt there was still something he was hiding from me.

"You coming to watch the match later?" I decided to ask, moving conversation away from him as I felt he wasn't keen on it.

"Yeah of course, need to get an idea about our opposition" he told me with a grin, which I returned.

"And then you have the party afterwards" he continued. I had a feeling he was trying to get something out of me, although what it was, I wasn't sure.

"I sure do" I replied, semi-enthustiastically, my mind reeling back to my trunk and just what exactly I might wear.

"Looking forward to it?" he asked, trying to sound casual in asking it. I looked at him for a few seconds before replying,

"Er, yeah". My voice was slightly hesitant, and I'm pretty sure he picked up on it as he just smiled at me. We continued to talk for a little while until the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. We both stopped talking as we waited to see who it was, only to be extremely suprised by the arrival of James.

"Wow and the time is.." Remus commented, looking over at me for a time check.

"Seven thirty five" I replied quickly, and I could hear James groan as he came over to us, flopping down heavily on the sofa next to me.

"It was Frank's snoring" he replied, his voice portraying how upset he was by this fact.

"You never usually wake up" Remus remarked, a grin on his face. James closed his eyes and shook his head,

"I know, I know" he said, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Why are you two abnormal people up at this time anyways?" James now asked, his expression very sleepy.

"Because we're abnormal" I replied, grinning. James just shook his head as he nudged me.

"What time's the match then?" I asked the two of them, only just realising I had no idea.

"It's a late one this time actually. I think it's three isn't it James?" Remus asked frowning. James nodded along, clearly still tired. I looked over at Remus who held up both of his hands and began counting down with his fingers in silence. By the time he got to three, James' head fell onto my shoulder and he was sound asleep again. I groaned a little and Remus chuckled,

"It's lucky you've got me for company really" he said in a teasing voice. I just shook my head at his comment before we dove into a much quieter conversation this time.

James was still asleep an hour later, and didn't look like he was going to be waking up anytime soon. It wasn't a comfortable position for me at all, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't too comfortable for him either. Lily had already come down and gone down to breakfast, and I knew if James didn't wake up soon I'd have to wake him up so I could get some breakfast for myself. Mine and Remus' conversation had died down and he had gone back to reading his book while I stared at the fire. As I was sitting there I heard a low chuckle from the staircase and I looked up to see Sirius just coming down the stairs, looking in our direction. He shook his head as he made his way over to us, and sat himself down on the other side of James.

"I wondered where he was" he said as he stretched, his tshirt lifting up slightly. This caused a few girls who were sitting close by to begin to giggle and whisper to each other at the sight. I just rolled my eyes as Sirius cast a glance over at them but said nothing.

"How long has he been like this then?" he asked me, nodding his head in James' direction.

"'Bout an hour" I told him, glancing down at my watch. Again, he chuckled.

"I wondered where he had gotten to" Sirius said as he only now really took in my appearance. He gave me his crooked smile, his eyes lighting up significantly and like the previous times, I couldn't help but return it. A slight coughing sound made us both jump a little and we turned to see Remus sitting there, apparently amused by the situation.

"Morning Moony" Sirius said lazily, a grin stretching onto his face.

"Looking forward to the match?" Remus asked him, and I could see a certain glint in his eye. I had a feeling he was up to something.

"Sure am, should be a good one" Sirius replied, casting a glance round the common room.

"Mm-hmm, and Ally's sorted with the party" came Remus' reply. Sirius' head spun so fast I'm pretty sure he done some damage as his hand shot to this area. A frown appeared on his face and I myself frowned at Remus, who winked at me.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Looking forward to it?" Sirius asked me, frown still on his face. I hesitated for a second, although I'm not too sure why.

"Erm, yeah should be good" I replied, failing to meet his eyes. I looked to the fire again, and James stirred a little before picking his head up and looking round.

"You're real comfy Ally" was his first comment, a grin lighting up his face. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a cushion and whacked him with it.

"Tut tut, no cushion fights for you. Especially with the dodgey hand" he reprimanded me, earning him another whack with the cushion. He just nudged me before getting up and stretching. The girls who had been sitting there when Sirius carried out the exact same action now began to giggle and whisper again.

"Now somebody's decided to wake up, I'm going to go and get some breakfast" I announced standing up. Wrong thing to do. The girls who had been staring at James now turned their attention to me and I saw their eyes widen as they took in the jumper. All at once they began to burst out into whispers and I had a feeling some gossip would be on it's way round school before long.

I quickly changed and managed to meet Lily, Lizzy, Susan and Mandy down in the Hall for some breakfast. After this I reluctantly took myself off to the library to finish off the work I hadn't managed to get done the past few days. I was in there for a while and completely forgot about lunch until Lily herself came up to find me. She gave me a bit of a speech about looking after myself, especially with my cough, and dragged me down to the Great Hall. Walking in, the atmosphere had changed from the laid back affair it was at breakfast and now you could sense the anticipation. The match would be starting in about an hour or so and I gave an encouraging smile to Edward, Jacob, Will and Luke as I caught their eye. I had just sat down with the others when Will came hurrying over.

"Hello you, good luck later!" I told him, a broad smile on my face. He returned it somewhat eagerly.

"Thanks Ally. I was just checking that we were still on for later?" he asked me, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking up at me with his head slightly ducked.

"Sure" I replied happily, and he beamed in response.

"Great, I'll see you later then" Will said, giving me one last smile before he returned to his own table.

"Eager beaver" Lizzy remarked, slight grin on her face.

"Eager beaver?" Fiona questioned, head cocked slightly to the side looking confused. Lizzy just shook her head,

"Don't worry Fi, don't worry" she sighed grinning. Fiona just shook her head as she continued to eat. Lunch flew past and before I knew it I was trudging up to the common room to grab something warm before heading out to the pitch. I had just walked in when Sirius came up to me, smile on his face.

"Hi, Professor Ford asked me to give you this" he told me, his voice a little bitter when saying Professor Ford's name. I just smiled and thanked him before continuing to head upstairs, reading the note as I went. On entering the dormitory Fiona immediately pounced on me.

"What's that?" she asked, coming over to read it over my shoulder.

"I have to go to the Hospital Wing at 5" I informed her, frowning as I wondered what I would be required for.

"Maybe it is time" Alice said dramatically, nodding at my hand. I looked up at her, my eyes wide as I began to hope.

"Don't get my hopes up!" I moaned at her, before placing the note in my pocket and locating my coat, scarf and gloves.

"It's not _that_ cold out there you know" Fiona remarked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, for someone with a normal body temperature and who's used to it" I told her as her mouth made a small 'O' shape, only just remembering my abnormal body temperature.

"Come on guys" Lily moaned at us from the doorway.

"Sorry holding you up from seeing lover boy are we?" Alice questionned sarcastically. Lily just threw her a look before now folding her hands and tapping her foot.

"Alright, alright, we're coming!" Fiona exclaimed now making her way over to the door. I quickly shoved my scarf on with my one hand, and put my one glove on before walking out without my coat on.

"Need a hand?" Lily asked me, smile on her face. I nodded and she helped me to put my jacket on.

"Thanks Lily" I told her with a genuine smile. She just waved her hand as she shooed me out of the dormitory and into the common room. On entering the common room we could see the Marauders, Fiona and Alex all having an indepth discussion. They just looked up at us as we walked in but said nothing else.

"...and keep an eye on what Master's does. He's definently one to watch" Alex was telling them all. I could only guess they were going to be keeping a close eye on the tactics of the two teams playing today.

"Most definently" came Sirius' voice. He said it in a sort of...odd fashion, which made me look up at him. Upon doing this, I could see him watching me, slight frown on his face. I was left feeling slightly beweildered by his comment, and I had a feeling it wasn't just directed at Will playing Quidditch.

Finally we made our way out to the pitch, and as I expected, the cold air hit me full on. It caused me to shiver slightly, and I sped up my pace. I left Lily and Alice to dwadle along with Susan and Mandy as I managed to catch up with Lizzy who was walking slightly behind the boys and Fiona.

"Full on Quidditch talk I'm guessing?" I asked as I fell into step beside her. She rolled her eyes before grinning slightly.

"Got it in one" she replied, and the two of us chatted about the game, with her informing me of the 'talent' on either team. Lizzy had decided she would be sitting up in the Gryffindor stand with us, whereas Susan and Mandy both departed to go and sit with the Ravenclaws.

"Such a faithful supporter" Lily commented sarcastically as she took a seat next to Lizzy. I myself, was sitting inbetween Lizzy and Fiona, the latter being extremely preoccupied talking tactics with the boys. The pitch was buzzing with noise, people anxiously awaiting the first action of the season. I myself was quite excited. Not only was this my first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, a few of my friends were playing and I was intrigued to see how they would do. At last, I could see the players walk out onto the pitch as the commentary began to start. I shuffled round anxiously in my seat, waiting for the thrill of excitement to shortly begin.


	15. Party Time

**A/N: Here we go. I have to thank everyone who reviewed, it gave me loads of encouragement to go on with this! Anyways I hope you all like it**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine**

**Ally's POV**

The match had only been on for half an hour, yet Hufflepuff had a distinctive lead. Edward had managed to earn his team a significant amount of points, with Jacob doing a great job as beater. Will and Luke had both managed to grab a few points between the two of them, yet they were still trailing. The seekers for both teams were still continuously circling the pitch like vultures, their eyes scanning the air frantically searching for the snitch.

"And we all thought Ravenclaw would walk it!" Lizzy exclaimed as she happily jumped up and cheered loudly as one of the Hufflepuff chasers put the Quaffle through the middle hoop. I had to say, this was the general concensus round school, yet Hufflepuff were so far proving everyone wrong. The game was clean enough, with no purpose fouls or anything occuring. I turned my head slightly to see the boys and Fiona completely transfixed with the game, occasionally speaking to point out one player or another.

The match continued in a similar fashion, although Ravenclaw had now caught up, being only 20 points behind. It was then that it happened. An hour into the game both seekers began to put on speed as they raced round the pitch. The Ravenclaw seeker was slightly ahead, and I could see as she stretched out her arm, her hand suddenly closing. It was then that she shot up into the middle of the pitch, revealing the golden snitch enclosed in her hand.

"And Ravenclaw win!" the commentator exclaimed. The stadium roared with approval, and I could make out the figures of Will and Luke as they were engulfed into a celebratory team hug, now making their way back down to the pitch. The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs alike poured onto the pitch to congratulate or console their team. The noise was unbelivable as I glanced down at my watch to see that it was just gone four. Under an hour to go then. We all began to get up and we gradually made our way down to the pitch, where both teams were still. We bypassed the two teams who were completely surrounded by their house mates as we made our way back up to the castle.

"Hey guys, wait up". We all turned round to see Susan and Mandy running up to us.

"Good match huh?!" Susan exclaimed eagerly as we once again headed for the castle.

"Yeah, it really was" Alice replied equally as eagerly, and the two of them dove into conversation about the game. Mandy just rolled her eyes as she joined me, Lizzy and Lily. We chatted as we walked up to the castle, and I was glad of the warmth that hit us when we had made it up one staircase. Mandy and Susan were about to depart then, before they turned to us.

"Party, five. We'll meet you outside to get you in okay?" Susan questionned.

"I've got to go to the Hospital Wing at 5" I told her. Her eyes widened,

"What for?" she asked, now moving towards me slightly. I shrugged by way of response.

"Well, I'll make sure the door's left ajar so you can get in" she said excitedly, before dashing madly up the staircase. Mandy just shook her head and sighed as she waved to us, calling out for Susan to wait for her. Me, Lily and Alice made our way up to the common room which held quite a lot of people who had just come back from the game.

"Right, we need to decide what to wear" Alice said excitedly, sprinting madly up the dormitory stairs. Me and Lily followed at a much slower pace, and I wasn't looking forward to this part of the day.

Forty five minutes later I was sat on my bed as Alice gave Lily some advice on what to wear. Both of them had gone through my trunk, trying to find something for me to wear. It eventually ended up with me being forced into my recently aquired skinny jeans and an electric blue vest top with relatively thick straps and a bow round the middle of it. The latter of which I had no idea I owned. I had also managed to persuade them to allow me to wear a black cardigan I had found, as well as my black plimsoles. Alice was wearing a pair of very, very ripped jeans with a red, fitted, off the shoulder top. She was now trying to get Lily to wear shorts but Lily was having none of it.

"I'm wearing jeans!" she exclaimed for what seemed the hundredth time. However, it seemed this now paid off as Alice relented and chucked her jeans over. Lily grinned triumphantly as she quickly hurried into the bathroom to put them on, along with a black vest top. At last she was ready and I glanced down at my watch to see it had just gone five to five.

"Come on guys, hospital wing" I told them, as I got up and stretched. Alice moaned that she wasn't ready, at which Lily retorted that if she hadn't bossed the both of us around she would be ready. Alice looked like she might argue with this point but then shut her mouth as she just waved her hands around and stalked out of the room.

"Right, let's go get you sorted!" Lily exclaimed happily as she shoved me out of the room and down the stairs into the common room. It was filled with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years. Apparently, 5th through to 7th had all been invited to the party. I just wondered how they would fit everyone in, but I guess they were Ravenclaws so they would find a way round that. We were almost at the other end of the common room when a wolf whistle greeted our ears. Turning round, we met the eyes of the Marauders, who were now all sauntering down the stairs in our direction. They were all dressed similarly, jeans and a casual shirt or polo top.

"Someone would think you're off to a party or something" James commented as they finally caught up with us. Lily rolled her eyes and huffed.

"If you don't mind, we have to be going" she snapped, before grabbing me and Alice and storming out of the common room. I wondered where Fiona had got to but the question was soon out of my head when I was trundled into the cold corridor. I shivered slightly as I made the other two walk faster towards the Hospital Wing. I could feel my heart rate increase as I wondered why I would be required here today. I stepped cautiously into the room, Lily and Alice either side of me. Slowly I made my way over to the bed I had been treated on when Madam Pomfrey bustled out.

"Oh good. Miss Turner you're here. I'll just be one moment" and with this she made her way back into the office. She wasn't in there too long before she came out accompanied by .

"Talent alert. Who is that scrummy vision?" Alice said under her breath, causing me and Lily to try and hold in our laughs.

"Miss Turner, good to see you in the same state I left you in" he greeted with a smile.

"Hello again Doctor Ford" I greeted politely, smiling back at him. He deposited his bag on the floor by the bed before he took my hand out of the sling and began to look at it. He inspected it at different angles before coming to a conclusion.

"Well, I think there's been a sufficient amount of time to allow it to heal. What I'm going to do is just remove the splints and then we'll take it from there okay?" he told me, now setting about to take off the bandage which was keeping the splints in place. I nodded my head to let him know I was okay with this and then watched with anticipation as he slowly undone the bandage. I could feel the pressue relieve off of my hand and I made sure to keep it still until he had removed it all. Finally, he had taken the bandage off and allowed the splints to fall silently onto the bed. I held my breath as he delicately took my hand and very slowly began to move it. One by one, he bent my fingers and I tensed as he reached the ones that had been problematic. But as he bent them, I felt nothing but slight muscle ache from having no movement occuring in them for a long period of time.

"How's that?" he asked, looking up at me.

"It's fine. A little achey but fine" I told him honestly. He frowned and looked back down at my hand, continuing to bend and unbend my fingers.

"Well, it looks like they've healed extremely well Miss Turner" said at long last, looking up at me with a smile. I beamed back at him, as I began to slowly stretch out my hand.

"Thankyou very much Doctor" I told him, extremely happily.

"It's been my pleasure Miss Turner. Now you'll probably experiance some ache and pains there in the next few days. Take it easy, and no more falling over okay?" he told me sternly. I nodded along enthustiastically as I jumped up off of the bed.

"Very well. You're free to go" he dismissed me with a smile. Honestly, I could have hugged him right then.

"Thankyou for everything Doctor Ford" I said happily as me, Lily and Alice began to walk out of the Hospital Wing. He just waved goodbye before turning and disappearing back into Madam Pomfreys office.

"It's fixed!" I exclaimed happily as soon as we were away from the Hospital Wing. Both Alice and Lily smiled widely at me.

"I know! But you have to take care of yourself at this party now okay?" Lily told me sternly, just as Doctor Ford had done so. I nodded along as I rolled my eyes, Alice mimicking my gesture.

"Come on guys! Party!" Alice exclaimed, now coming behind the two of us and pushing us along. We chatted happily as we walked, and I soon noticed how we had been walking up a certain flight of stairs for quite a long period of time.

"Is this where their common room is?" I asked the two of them who were ahead of me.

"Yup, we're nearly there though now" Alice replied happily from just infront of me. And she was right. Soon enough the stairs levelled out into a small passage way of sorts, at the end of which stood a door.

"I hope they left it open slightly" Alice murmured from beside of me. Lily was walking slightly ahead of us and so reached the door first.

"We're all good" she called out happily, slipping through the door. Alice followed her in with me behind her slightly. Like the Gryffindor common room, there was a very short passage before you reached the main common room. On arriving in the room, a blast of noise hit us. The music was extremely loud, and I could only guess that they had put a silencing charm up. The room, I could see was massive, and again I took a guess that they had used some sort of charm to enlarge it to fit more people into it. Still, the room was packed full of people already and I stuck close to Alice as we weaved our way through the crowds. Eventually the crowd thinned out a little and I found myself standing at a drinks table.

"There you are!" I heard a voice cry out from behind me. Turning, I saw Fiona making her way over to us, looking extremely hot with a drink in her hand.

"You've been ages! Where have you been?" she asked loudly, trying to speak over the music. I grinned at her as I waved my hand in her face. Her eyes widened and she jumped up and down.

"It's gone it's gone!" she cried out happily, hugging me suddenly.

"It's a good day for you then. You look great by the way" she complimented me with a smile on her face. I took this moment to see what she was wearing; a pair of dark denim jeans with a very thin gold vest top.

"So do you" I told her with a smile. She just returned it as she said hello to both Alice and Lily.

"How'd it go?". I spun round to see Lizzy, Susan and Mandy standing behind me. I turned suddenly and showed them my now free hand and they reacted much the same way as Fiona; jumping up and down. They then all hugged me, and like Fiona had done, said that they were pleased that it was gone. I smiled back at them as Lizzy, Susan, Mandy and Fiona informed the three of us who was here and all of that.

After a short five minutes Luke appeared from behind Lily, causing her to jump and hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Took you're time" he said, grinning round at all of us. This caused the rest of the girls to blush while I just smiled up at him.

"Had to go to the Hospital Wing" I told him, putting a guilty look on my face. I got the reaction I wanted; he groaned and put a hand to his forehead.

"Oh Merlin Ally. What have you done to yourself now?" he asked, shutting his eyes as if expecting the worst.

"Nothing I'll have you know" I told him happily, and he opened his eyes, a confused look appearing on his face until he looked down at my hand.

"Cor, at last. Now, take care of yourself. I mean it Ally!" he exclaimed as I rolled my eyes at his statement. He sighed and shook his head as he grabbed Lily's hand.

"I think you owe me a dance" he told her, causing her to blush deeply. He dragged her off to the dancefloor, sending me a grin as he done so.

"I reckon tonights the night for them two" Lizzy remarked from beside me, a broad smile on her face.

"There you are, Fiona said you had arrived". I found myself turning round again to see Will standing behind me. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a casual black shirt on.

"I sure have" I told him, a smile on my face.

"Congratulations on your win" I said happily, giving him a hug.

"Thanks. It was a close one though" Will replied as I broke away.

"Edward and Jacob played a great game. They should be coming tonight as well" he continued, taking an oppertunity to look round the room. He then returned his gaze to me,

"You look great by the way" he told me, a broad smile on his face. I blushed a little at the compliment,

"Thanks". The smile on his face just widened, as he began to sort himself out a drink.

"So what took you so long?" he tried asking me casually. Lizzy managed to catch my eye as she just grinned at me. I shook my head at her and didn't realise Will was looking at me curiously.

"Oh, Hospital Wing" I told him, holding up my hand.

"Hey, it's fixed!" he exclaimed, taking my hand in his own. I was suprised by the action but felt nothing as I did when Sirius took my hand. He very softly touched the area round my knuckles, as if examining it for himself. If it was possible, Lizzy's grin widened. That was, until Alex came up behind her and scared her. I couldn't help but laugh as Will looked up at me. I just shook my head, as he dropped my hand.

"Come on, lets dance" he said suddenly, re-taking my hand and dragging me out onto the dance floor.

I had to admit, I was having a great time. Will was a great person, who had the ability to make me laugh and smile at the smallest of things. We danced for ages until my legs were beginning to ache and I excused myself and found a seat by one of the windows.

"You look like you're having a good time". I jumped as I looked up to see Sirius standing there, two drinks in his hand. He took a seat next to me and handed me one of the drinks.

"Thanks" I told him as I drank eagerly, absoloutly boiling.

"My pleasure" Sirius said as he too, took a sip. We sat in silence for a while, just watching the people around us.

"I see your hands all fixed now" he remarked suddenly. I turned to see him looking at me, a faint smile on his face.

"Yup, all mended" I told him happily. He just nodded, as we once again lapsed into silence. I don't know why this kept happening, it was as if there was something awkward between us now. I turned my head slightly, to see him just staring out of the window, a slight frown on his face.

"Preoccupied?" I asked him. I could see him smile before he turned to face me. He just shrugged as he stood up abruptly.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Sirius asked me, extending a hand. The song had just been changed and was a slow one, although the dancefloor was still packed full of people.

"Erm, yeah sure" I replied, setting down my cup before taking his offered hand. He didn't drop my hand, but led me into what seemed to be the middle of the dance floor. Eventually he stopped and spun me round to face him, one of his hands going to my waist while the other kept a hold my hand. Slightly tentatively, I put my other hand on his upper arm as we began to slowly dance. I looked up to see him looking down on me, before a grin stretched on his face.

"I never quite realised how small you were" he remarked mischievously. I lightly hit him on the arm as he just chuckled at the action.

"You look amazing tonight" Sirius told me suddenly. I blushed, and felt my heart rate increase as I looked up at him. His eyes were a very light grey tonight, and there was a mixture of emotions swirling round in them.

"Thanks" I replied quietly, my eyes holding his. He smiled crookedly at me, as we slowly made our way round the dance floor.

"I don't think Will'll be too happy when he realises I've stolen you" he commented after a while. I frowned at this.

"He'll be fine" I replied, and I could hear Sirius sigh a little.

"What?" I asked him curiously. He just shook his head.

"Nothing" came his short reply. I continued to frown at him until he sighed again.

"It's really nothing" he told me again.

"That's why you were sighing dramatically" I teased him. He looked at me, grin on his face.

"I wasn't sighing dramatically" he argued back. I rolled my eyes,

"Yes you were" I retorted. He laughed at me before he shook his head. There was a moment of silence between us, and it was as if he was having an internal argument.

"He really likes you, you know" he finally said quietly, avoiding my eye contact. I froze for a minute before resuming my previous position and sighing.

"Now who's sighing dramatically?" he asked teasingly, still not properly looking at me. I couldn't help but smile a little as another silence settled on us.

"We're just friends" I replied at last, and this time he did meet my eyes. It was if he was really looking at me, reading the emotions in my own eyes.

"I know" he said at last. I hadn't realised until now that the song had completely stopped and another, much faster one was playing. We had also completely stopped moving, and he gave my hand a gentle squeeze before dropping it, although his other hand remained on my waist.

"Having fun?" a voice interjected. We both turned to see Alex and Lizzy standing next to us, both of them standing very close to each other. I looked at Lizzy and she just grinned at me, her eyes staring deliberately at my waist, where Sirius' hand currently was. I blushed and her grin widened.

"I'm boiling, how about we get a drink" Lizzy suggested. I nodded along, feeling how hot I was.

"Come on then" Lizzy said, turning. It was only now that I could see Alex's hand on her back. I looked at Sirius who was grinning. He then began to guide me through the crowds, following in the footsteps of Alex and Lizzy. We eventually wound our way over to them where they had already poured themselves, and us, some drinks.

"Voila" Lizzy said enthustiastically, looking at me for approval. I just smiled at her and she returned it happily.

"Thanks" I told the two of them as Sirius handed me a drink, his hand still on my waist. Sirius and Alex then launched into a conversation about the match as me and Lizzy both shook our heads.

"Is that all you talk about?!" she exclaimed suddenly, interrupting their conversation. Alex bent down a little and whispered something to her which then caused her to blush. I just rose my eyebrows at her and she shook her head slightly.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!". Turning my head slightly I saw Edward and Jacob making their way over to me. I moved slightly and I could feel Sirius drop his hand as they finally approached us.

"Well done today you two" I told them, standing on my tiptoes to hug the both of them.

"Yeah, good game" Alex offered, nodding at both of them. They both smiled at him, before they looked back at me, frown on face.

"Something's different..." Jacob stated. Finally his eyes rested on my hand and his eyes widened.

"You're all sorted!" Edward exclaimed, and the two of them grinned broadly at me as I nodded.

"Don't mind if we steal her for a bit do you?" Edward suddenly asked, turning to look at Sirius. I also turned to look at him, a suprised look on his face as he shook his head.

"Oh no, no course not" he said hurridly as they both grabbed one of my hands and dragged me off to dance.

After dancing with them Will finally found me again and insisted I stayed on the dancefloor to dance with him. I was absoloutly after a while and so he led me off to get a drink, the both of us standing by a window for some air. There was a casual silence between us, which he eventually broke.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked me glancing round at the packed room.

"Yeah, it's great! Are you?" I returned his question. He looked back at me, smiling.

"Yeah, I really am" he told me. Another silence settled on us, but it was a comfortable one.

"Ally?" Will said suddenly.

"Yup?" I asked him, wondering what was wrong. He sighed as he shook his head,

"Nothing, don't worry". In that instant he reminded me of the conversation between me and Sirius a little earlier.

"Come on" I told him, curious as to what he wanted. He sighed and turned his full attention back to me.

"Sirius," he began and I blushed just at the mention of his name.

"He really likes you" he said at last, watching my reaction. I hesitated, but chose not to say anything.

"The way he looks at you. It's like he'd do anything for you" Will continued, shuffling his feet a little. I sighed as I felt this was more to do with him than Sirius.

"And us..." he trailed off, very anxiously.

"Will, you're a great friend to me. I wouldn't want anything to change that" I said slowly, meaning every word of it. He smiled weakly at me,

"I'm glad" was his final comment. I smiled broadly at him and he tried to return it, although with some difficulty.

"Are you two guna stand there all night or what?!" came the voice of Fiona as she took an arm of each of us and dragged us back onto the dancefloor.

I was having a great time, and ended up dancing with all the girls (minus Lily). We were all enjoying ourselves, and as I glanced down at my watch I saw that it was already gone half 12. The room had already begin to empty, especially as many people had been here since five. I flopped down onto one of the sofas with the others.

"I reckon we should start going before we get caught" Alice remarked in an odd moment of sensibleness. I nodded, feeling a little tired.

"Where's Lily?" Fiona asked suddenly, looking round. The rest of us all joined in her visual search but we couldn't see her anywhere.

"Oh well, we can always meet her back in the common room" Alice said as she got up. All of a sudden her eyes widened and she looked very excited.

"I have the best idea ever!" she proclaimed loudly. The rest of us turned to look at her, nodding our heads to encourage her on.

"We should sneak Lizzy, Susan and Mandy back into the dormitory for a sleep over!" she continued excitedly.

"Fab idea!! Lets go guys" Fiona agreed, jumping up and pulling us up with her instantly. It was almost as if she had been expecting Alice to say something like that....

"And how do you suggest we do this?" I asked her, as we began to make our way out. She shrugged but looked excited. I just shook my head as we made our way out into the cold corridor. We all stood still as we listened to the sounds around us.

"Can't hear anything, come on quickly" Alice said hurridly, ushering us all on. However, half way down the stairs we all burst into giggles, gradually becoming louder and louder.

"Guys shut up!" Alice complained from in front.

"Can't help it" I managed to say between giggles.

"It's like we're James Bond" Lizzy said, which made me laugh harder. Mandy joined us in our laughter but Alice, Susan and Fiona looked beweildered.

"Like who?" Susan asked curiously as she scanned the apparently deserted corridor. The three of us just shook our head as I found I couldn't breath from laughing so much.

"What the hell are you lot doing down here?". We all jumped and Susan screamed, which made me burst out laughing again. Luke was standing a little way down the corridor, Lily infront of him against a wall. I rolled my eyes, very glad that we had laughed and caused them to notice us.

"What the hell are you two doing down here?" Fiona retorted, grinning folding her arms.

"Eurgh, I don't even want to know" I said suddenly as Luke looked like he was going to reply. He just grinned at me as he moved, allowing Lily to step forward a little. She looked extremely flustered, her hair messed up.

"We're going back to the common room" Alice told her suddenly, and she frowned.

"All of you?" Luke asked, and I could see him look a little confused.

"Yup, all of us" Lizzy said excitedly, which then made us all laugh again. Luke just shook his head.

"We'll erm, meet you up there Lils" Fiona told her, sending her a grin. We all waved merrily at them as we passed, laughing loudly as we continued on our journey.

Thankfully we managed to get up to the common room without further incident, although with a lot of laughing. Alice had told me and Lizzy off for being too loud and we both held our breath to stop us from laughing as we tiptoed into the common room. There were a few figures sitting by the fire and Alice pointed them out to us and put a finger to her lips as she made her way to the stairs. I looked at Lizzy, which turned out to be the wrong thing to do as she had tears pouring down her face from trying to hold in her laughter. This set me off and my shoulders began to shake as we tried to follow Alice quietly. We were almost there when Lizzy broke. She burst out into laughter, which set me off.

"What on earth are you doing?!" came the voices from the fire. Me and Lizzy couldn't breath from laughing, as we tried to control ourselves.

"We're having fun" I heard Fiona reply, as she nudged me and Lizzy.

"Sounds it" came a voice I recognised. Looking up I saw the Marauders sitting in their usual spots just looking at us with amusement in their eyes. I watched as Fiona made her way over to them and sat herself down on one of the sofas. Alice then followed her with Susan and Mandy. Me and Lizzy trailed behind, still trying to regain some control over ourselves.

"I have the best idea" Fiona said suddenly, just as me and Lizzy took a seat on the carpet by the fire. She jumped up, sent us a grin before dashing up the stairs. Susan shook her head as she watched her,

"Mad, mad child" was her quiet comment.

"Did you have a good night?" James asked us all, and we all nodded.

"You?" I asked, returning his question. He shrugged half heartedly, and I frowned a little.

"Where's Evans?" he asked suddenly, before I had a chance to question him further.

"With lover boy" came Susan's immediate reply. James didn't say anything else but sunk a little in his chair, sighing as he done so. A small silence settled in which I rolled my eyes at Susan who then proceeded to look extremely confused. Lizzy, watching us, then tried to mouth to Susan about the whole James obviously liking Lily thing. If anything this confused her even more and she scrunched her face up as Lizzy tried mouthing it slower. I could feel laughter beginning to build up in me and my shoulders began to shake at the effort of keeping it in. Mandy saw me and I could see her shoulders begin to shake as well.

"I leave you for one minute and you go back to being loonys" I heard Fiona comment, in a mock stern voice. I turned to her just as the portrait swung open. I swivelled my head in the opposite direction to see a smiling Lily stalk in. Her eyes fell on the Marauders but she said nothing as she took a seat next to Mandy and Susan.

"Spill" was the only word said by Fiona as she sat directly opposite Lily.

"I'm guna call it a night" James said rather abruptly, before turning and walking extremely quickly out of the common room. An awkward few seconds passed before Lily broke the silence.

"I'll tell you later" was all she said, as she sat there happily. I didn't have to be a genius to take a guess at what had happened. I looked over at Fiona who just poked her tongue out at Lily before shaking the bottle infront of her face. Lily frowned immediately.

"Come on...fun!" Fiona exclaimed, spinning round to show everyone else the bottle of Firewhisky in her hand. Lily looked over at me and firmly shook her head. Obviously, she was against me drinking at all. Everyone else was nodding their head in agreement with her and she turned to me. Thankfully, I had the perfect excuse already.

"I can't" I told her, and she frowned at me.

"You can't drink while you're on medication" I told her. She looked at me and then down at my hand but still frowned.

"That's really rubbish" she said. I just shrugged as Lily intervened,

"But true, so no way are you having any" she told me, frown on her face. However, the second Fiona turned away she gave me a broad smile. I returned it as I tried to get comfy.

"I might go and get changed quickly. Won't be a tic" I said suddenly, jumping up. Fiona looked up at me but I just grinned as I bolted for the stairs.

"That's so not fair when she does that" I heard her say from behind me when I had stopped to walk normally up the stairs. I only switched my jeans for my pyjama trousers as I headed out of the dormitory. I slowly walked down the stairs before I stopped. Turning, I looked at the stairs leading up to the boys dormitory and hesitated for a second before I made my decision and I made my way up the stairs, on my way to the sixth year boys room. I was nearly there when I was stopped in my tracks,

"Ally?". I looked up and saw Alex standing there, looking a little sleepy and confused.

"That's me" I replied cheerfully and he just shook his head a little.

"Is it me or is it noisy downstairs?" he asked curiously, perking up a bit by now.

"It might be noisy. If it is I apologise on their behalf" I told him, very sorry for having evidently waking him up.

"Their?" Alex questioned, running a hand through his hair.

"Yuhuh, erm the girls are all down there" I explained, slightly hesitantly.

"What are you up to?" he asked me wearily, as if I usually was up to something.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed rapidly, but he just rose an eyebrow at me.

"Well, erm Lizzy's down there" I suggested helpfully. I took careful note of his reaction; his eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Hmm, I might go and crash your party then" he said with a grin before turning and running back up the stairs, obviously to put something else on. I just shook my head as I watched him go, continuing on my journey. Eventually I reached the door, which had become scarily familiar as I tentatively knocked on the door.

"Mm-hmm" I heard James say from within and I slowly opened the door. Looking in I could see him shoving some stuff into his trunk. He looked round when I walked in and smiled wearily at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him slowly, hovering by the door. He sighed and stood up and sat on his bed. He beckoned me in and I shut the door before taking a seat next to him.

"Lily and De Piesto huh?" he asked me quietly. I nodded my head slightly and he sighed as he shrugged.

"And I really thought she liked me deep down" James muttered. I nudged him and smiled as he looked up.

"Some things just take time" I told him softly, unsure as to what else to say.

"I don't know.." he trailed off feebly, staring down into his hands.

"Just give her a chance" I said, trying to lift James' mood by any means possible.

"Maybe you're right" he sighed, looking up at me. I put on a look of offense,

"I'm always right!" I exclaimed. He rolled his eyes and nudged me slightly.

"We'll see" James said, a slightly happier tone to his voice. I nodded my head enthustiastically,

"Indeed we shall. So come on, come and join us downstairs" I said, jumping up and holding out my hand to him. He sighed and was about to open his mouth to reply before I beat him to it,

"Nooo, you are coming! It's fun" I tried encouraging him. He still looked doubtful so I resorted to something else.

"For meeee?" I asked him, a slight moan to my voice. Again, he rolled his eyes.

"Well, when you put it like that..." he responded, taking my offered hand as I pulled him up.

"Right, come on then" I told him, dragging him over to the door. I could see him shake his head out the corner of my eye and we were at the door when Alex and Callum came charging down the stairs. They stopped as they saw the two of us and they looked a little shocked.

"Aye up" Alex commented, eyes flashing down to our adjoined hands. I blushed and I could see James grinning.

"What can I say?!" he replied with a cocky shrug. I just shook my head as Alex and Callum both laughed and I went to carry on walking when James pulled me back. I turned to him with a slight frown on my face, only to see a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What are you planning Potter?" Callum asked, seemingly very intrigued.

"Ah. I just think you two should go down first. Maybe tell everyone what you just saw..." James explained, lifting my hand that he was still holding. I could see them both click and they both grinned, before sprinting down the stairs. I stared at him, and he just shrugged at me.

"What? I just thought it would be interesting to see how certain people would react" he told me, still grinning like a maniac. I shook my head and began trying to walk down the stairs, however this time he let go of my hand and allowed me to do so. I was near the bottom of the stairs when he stopped me again, placing a hand on my shoulder. I stood still and he came and stood on the step next to me, the both of us trying to hear what was going on.

"....and then they came out of the room together, holding hands!" Alex rounded off, putting on a very good act. There was a moment of silence before Fiona broke it by laughing.

"Haha very funny" she said sarcastically, and I could almost imagine her rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"No, really it did happen! Me and Callum saw it!" we could hear Alex exclaim.

"Definently?" Lizzy's voice entered the conversation.

"Yup, 100% sure" Alex replied confidently. Again there was a moment of silence before James began to continue walking down the stairs, me following in his footsteps. Everyone looked round as we entered and James stopped walking, causing me to bump into him.

"What?" he asked, and I could see a frown on his face. I took this oppertunity to look round at everyone. Alex and Callum were both grinning like maniacs. Fiona was looking from me to James and then back again, Lizzy copying her actions. Lily just stared at me, as did Susan and Mandy. Remus was also sitting there grinning, shaking his head slightly. Peter looked confused, and Frank and Alice looked curious. The last person I came to was Sirius; he had a frown on his face and he didn't look very happy at all.

"You and Ally..." Fiona trailed off. She was the first one to answer James' question, and even that was a pretty lame answer.

"Me and Ally...." James replied, encouraging Fiona on.

"Alex and Callum said they saw you come out of your dormitory holding hands". Wow, I didn't think Fiona would actually come out and say it so bluntly. James just shrugged as he looked at me and I copied his actions by trying to look laid back about it.

"Ally was just trying to drag me down here with you lot is all" he explained, now putting a frown on his face. However, he then scanned round them all and began grinning.

"Why? Did you think...?" he asked them all. It was comical, they all at once began shaking their head and saying that they didn't think anything at all. James just turned to me and gave me a small wink before taking my hand again, and now dragging me over to where everyone was sitting, pulling me down inbetween himself and Sirius on a sofa. Everyone still looked at us a little shocked by the action and I looked over to Fiona and Lizzy who both had their eyebrows raised. I just gave a small shake of my head and they shook their own head, indicating we'd be talking about this later. However, I then noticed how close Lizzy and Alex were sitting and delibrately looked over to where he was positioned directly behind her and back to herself. She had the decency to blush as I just grinned at her. What I hadn't noticed before was how everyone was sitting with a glass in their hand. Obviously the drink had been dished out, and it seemed to be that another couple of bottles had been conjoured up. There was a moment of silence in which people continued to look between me and James but then chatter slowly began to break out.

"I think that went rather well" James whispered to me. I just turned to him and shook my head, the grin evident on his face. Still, at least I had managed to cheer him up a little.

Everyone was just sitting round talking, but gradually I noticed how the noise levels began to decrease. Susan had fallen asleep a while ago, her head falling on Callum's shoulder who looked a little beweildered by the whole situation. Then Alice and Frank had both fallen asleep; Alice curled up in the armchair. Lily fell asleep leaning on Fiona who in turn was now leaning on Remus for support. Mandy looked extremely tired, as did Lizzy who was leaning on Alex; the latter of whom seemed extremely pleased with this outcome. I glanced down at my clock quickly to see that it was now 3, and I knew that Susan, Mandy and Lizzy couldn't stay down in the common room, or not they'd be found in the morning.

"Come on guys, you three can't stay down here" Fiona said, almost reading my mind. She nudged Lily a little who seemed very disgruntled to be woken up. I had to say that I was extremely comfortable in my current position; sitting between James and Sirius had meant that I stayed very warm. I watched as Mandy nudged Susan who sat bolt upright immediately, and looked around very confused.

"Right, up we go" Fiona said, as she heaved Lily into a standing position. I watched as she swayed slightly, which made me laugh a little. She just scowled at me before stretching then yawning. She then padded over to me and offered me a hand. Gratefully I took it as I heaved myself up, stretching as well. It was so nice having the sling and splints off, and I had been stretching and bending my fingers all night. I then walked over to where Susan was and offered her a hand. Like Lily, she swayed a little when she had finally managed to make it up, and looked sleepily down at Lizzy and Mandy.

"Come on guys, I'm tired" she moaned, offering them both hands. Lizzy took the offered hand a little reluctantly, and I couldn't help but grin at her. She shook her head at me,

"Tomorow, tomorow" she told me, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. I nodded as I turned to the boys.

"Night all" I said, really only now feeling how tired I was. They all smiled at me and nodded as I led the party up the stairs into the dormitory.

There was a bit of shuffling around as we all had to decide who would sleep where.

"Bagsy with Ally. Her bed is most definently the comfiest" Lizzy said happily, bouncing up and down on my bed. I grinned at her as she sat herself down in the pyjama bottoms and top that Lily had leant her (all of them were all taller than me which meant no-one could really borrow my stuff). It seemed she soon got tired of sitting on top of the covers as she then jumped into the bed and pulled all the covers round her. I went over and tore them off of her as I got in.

"You can't have them all" I moaned, poking my tongue out at her.

"Ahhh, we shall see" she said, nodding her head and grinning. I couldn't help but smile back as I settled myself in for the night. I hadn't realised just how tired I was and I was soon in a semi-concious state. It was completely silent when I finally did drift off, finding myself in a deep sleep.


	16. Shifting

**A/N: Chapter 16 for you all, a little sooner than expected because I'm feeling generous that way. Thanks again to those who reviewed, they all made me smile. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it...**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me**

**Ally's POV**

The sound of myself coughing woke me up. After I had gotten over my slight coughing fit I realised how cold I was. Looking down, I noticed that only half of my body had some sort of cover on it; Lizzy had stolen basically all of the covers and she looked lovely and warm. I tiredly looked round the room, noticing that someone had obviously fallen out of bed and was now on the floor. As I was scanning the room I heard a slight groan, and then movement from across the room.

"Morning" I said groggily as Lily sat and peered round the room. Finally, her eyes rested on me and she smiled wearily,

"Morning" she replied tiredly, just as she yawned. She sat up a little more and rubbed her eyes. Following her lead, I myself sat up and stretched. However, I was momentarily suprised when there was no hint of any pressure on my right hand. Alarmed I looked over it and then remembered that I had been cleared to have the splints and bandages taken off.

"What time is it?" she asked me, now looking out of the window. I glanced down at my watch, only to find it not there. I frowned as I looked to my bedside table and found it there. Hmm, I didn't remember putting it there.

"Nine" I informed Lily as I put my watch back on.

"Susan looks comfy" she commented, now referring to the person on the floor. I just smiled and shook my head as I looked at the weather outside. It was very dark from the heavy cloud cover, the opposite to how yesterday had been.

"Did you have a good night last night?" Lily now asked me, heaving herself out of bed as she began quietly pottering around.

"Yeah I really did, did you?" I asked with a slight smile, thinking that she most probably did enjoy herself. I could see a faint blush tint her cheeks as she answered me,

"Yeah it was geat" she replied enthustiastically. Lily then turned to face me, and she looked slightly awkward.

"Erm, Ally?" she questioned, making sure to keep her voice quiet.

"Yup?" I replied, very curious as to what she might want. She beckoned me over to her bed where she had just sat. I heaved myself up and out of bed to be hit by the cold air. This made me almost run over as I actually got into her bed.

"Comfortable enough?" she asked sarcastically. I just smiled and nodded my head at her before she spun round to properly face me.

"Right. Well. Erm, last night. Well me and Luke kinda...you know..." she trailed off feebly. I grinned at her, having already guessed that something like that had happened.

"Well yeah, anyway. I know that he's almost your brother. So I just wanted to ask you if it was, yano okay for me to see him and everything?" Lily asked me very, very hesitantly. I was slightly shocked that she was actually asking me.

"Lily you don't need to ask me if it's okay!" I exclaimed, slightly loudly. Alice turned in her bed but other than that, the girls remained asleep. I turned my attention back to Lily who just looked a bit sheepish.

"I just wanted to check" she said with a shrug, although there was a slight smile on her face.

"Well you really don't have to" I told her, sending her a smile. She returned it fully before a glint appeared in her eye. Uh-oh.

"And don't think I didn't notice" she said cryptically. I blushed a little as she just looked at me to explain.

"Notice what?" I asked her innocently. She rolled her eyes before explaining further,

"You and Will! I saw the two of you dancing then he dragged you off and you had a talk...." she trailed off, looking at me expectantly. I actually sighed in slight relief, thinking that she was talking about me and Sirius.

"Oh _that_. Nothing happened, we're just friends" I told her with a shrug. Lily frowned a little at my words,

"_That_?" she questioned me. Okay, so I shouldn't have said that. I sat there in silence for a while before I decided to reply with a shrug. I watched her scrutanise me for a few more moments before apparently letting it pass.

"Just friends?" she asked after a while. I nodded my head by way of response.

"Really? I definently thought something was going to happen there" she told me, smile on face. I just shrugged,

"I just see him as a friend, that's all" I explained to her. She seemed a little mystified by this concept but didn't say anything else; she just simply shrugged as she got up and headed for the bathroom.

"I think I need a nice hot shower" she randomly informed me. I sent her a smile and before long I was left in relative silence.

It wasn't long until Lily came out and then we swapped as I headed in for a shower. I took my time in there, savouring the heat being emitted from the water. I then quietly came out, and grabbed a few of my books as I headed down to the common room. Lily had already told me that she was going to breakfast but I wasn't feeling too hungry so I decided to just get on with the remainder of my work, leaving me with the rest of the day free. The common room was packed full of the younger years who were making a tonne of noise. I just tried to block them out as best I could as I began to write my Astronomy essay.

After an hour and a half I was finished. I had already planned my essay, so it was a little easier for me to write. I set my quill down, proud of my morning's work.

"Finished already?" came a voice from beside me. I jumped, my eyes wide as I turned to the person next to me. Sirius was sitting there, looking at me with a slightly amused look on his face.

"You scared the life out of me!" I exclaimed, sitting back in my chair. He just chuckled lightly,

"Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you" he explained, gesturing to my now finished essay. I frowned a little at this,

"How long have you been sitting there?" I asked him, wondering how I didn't notice him arrive.

"Not that long" Sirius told me, stretching in his seat.

"All finished then?" he asked when he had settled back in his original position.

"Yup, sorted" I told him, shoving all of my stuff to the side and taking a seat on the sofa on which Sirius was sitting.

"You managed to cheer James up well yesterday" he remarked abruptly, not looking at me. I smiled a little, at the memory of James' plan last night, or earlier this morning rather.

"I try my best" I told him happily. He turned to look at me, his face not giving anything away. It shocked me a little to see his face so devoid of emotion, when normally his face was full of it.

"It worked well" was all he said. I felt an uncomfortable silence settle on us and I fidgeted in my seat slightly.

"Is there anything going on with you two?" came another abrupt coment from him. I turned to face him but he was staring at the wall in front of him.

"No!" I exclaimed rather quickly, and he turned to me, eyebrows raised.

"You know he likes Lily" I continued, and Sirius nodded his head in agreement.

"So her and De Piesto?" he asked me, holding my eye contact. The intensity of his gaze made me momentarily forget that he had in fact asked me a question. I broke the contact, feeling a faint heat present in my cheeks. I just nodded my head, not quite trusting my voice just yet.

"Hmmm, could kinda see that one coming I guess" I heard him say, and I chose this moment to look up at him. As I did so, he sent me a croooked smile which made my heart rate increase significantly.

"So did you enjoy yourself last night?" Sirius asked me, changing the subject quickly.

"Oh yeah, I found it really good. How about yourself?" I returned his question politely. He just gave a half hearted shrug by way of a reply, much the same way James had responded to exactly the same question last night. I frowned as I wondered if there was something I was missing.

"It was okay" Sirius then commented, jerking me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him to see him looking at me, a faint trace of a smile present.

"Nothing special?" I questioned, watching his response carefully. He paused for a second before his face lit up a little, and he smiled.

"Well, it was when-" he began but I couldn't hear the rest of his sentence as James decided to take this moment to arrive and sat himself down inbetween me and Sirius. I watched as James rose his eyebrows and gave Sirius a massive grin.

"Oh really now?" James asked Sirius cockily. Sirius growled at James and punched him on the shoulder,

"Heey, it's not my fault my timing's lousy" James defended himself, a frown now on his face. A frown appeared on my own face as I felt completely and utterly confused.

"Morning Ally" James now said, turning his attention to me, a large grin on his face. It was as if he was up to something...

"Morning James" I replied, matching his bright tone. He opened his mouth to say something when Sirius just glared at him. Instead I watched as James cast his eyes over to the table I had been working on and I could see disapproval flash on his face.

"Tell me you didn't get up and work straight away?" he asked me.

"Erm, no?" I questioned, a small smile on my face. James groaned and put a hand to his head dramatically.

"But, at least I'm free for the rest of the day now" I proclaimed happily, watching his face brighten up a bit.

"Then what are we doing still sitting here?! Let's goooo" he all but shouted, and jumped up offering me a hand. Sirius also got up and shot James a look. I'm not sure whether James saw it and chose to ignore it or just didn't see it, but he looked at me expectantly. I sighed as I allowed him to heave me up, which then meant I was dragged over to the portrait.

"James! I haven't got any shoes on!" I exclaimed loudly, just as he was about to drag me out into the corridor. He stopped suddenly, which caused me to bump into him, and then Sirius bumped into me.

"Quickly go then! We'll meet you out here" he told me, and I spun round only to find that I was standing extremely close to Sirius.

"Oh, sorry" I said quickly, blushing. I heard him chuckle as he turned to his side so I could get through, although I still brushed against him. I didn't turn around when I finally managed to get past and I quickly walked up the stairs to grab my shoes. All the girls were still asleep and so I made sure I was quiet as I searched for a pair of shoes. I finally managed to find the pair I had been wearing yesterday and I grabbed a navy cardigan as I quietly shut the door behind me. I then shoved my way through the common room which was becoming increasaingly packed and into the cold corridor.

"Take your time" James commented from the right of me. I turned to see him and Sirius watching me, and it looked like they had been in the middle of a conversation.

"Well I'm here now" I told him brightly and he just shook his head as he began walking down the corridor. I easily caught up with them as we began descending the stairs.

"So where are we going?" I asked the both of them.

"Outside" was all James said and he grinned at me.

"But it'll be cold outside" I moaned, looking down at my very simple and not very warm attire of jeans, a t-shirt and a thin cardigan. I could see James roll his eyes, and then he paused for a moment.

"I'm sure you'll be okay" he said, in a mysterious voice. I decided to say nothing as we continued walking down the stairs.

Finally we had reached the Entrance Hall and we walked out of the main doors into the cold air. Instantly I began shivering, really not used to this dodgey english weather quite yet. Thankfully though, my cough had subsided, and was now only faint. We carried on walking on the frosted, and relatively hard ground in the direction of the lake. I frowned slightly but said nothing, and we walked in silence until we eventually reached the tree I had used to demonstrate my abilities. James and Sirius then sat themselves down on the ground and looked up at me expectantly.

"But its freezing!" I protested. James just rolled his eyse and patted the ground inbetween him and Sirius. I sighed, knowing I would probably lose this argument. Instead I walked over and sat myself down on the predictably hard and cold ground. The view of the lake was beautiful from this position, the little sun hitting the waters surface was reflected making it sparkle. As I sat there shivering, I felt Sirius move a little closer to me, bringing with him some warmth. I turned to look at him but he was looking over at the lake, a slight far off look in his eye.

"It's beautiful" I commented, feeling the need to keep my voice quiet.

"Yup. And it's always quiet out here in winter" James replied, and I could see him grin at the last part of his sentence. I just nudged him slightly as I brought my knees up to my chest, resting my chin on them. I allowed a small sigh to escape my lips, although it came out slightly stuttered due to the cold. The three of us sat in a comfortable for a silence for a while, each of us lost in our own thoughts. That is until an owl randomly swept down and landed gracefully on the grass infront of me. I frowned as I reached out towards it, grabbing the letter attached. Looking down I could see my name written in black ink.

"Uh-oh what have you done?" James asked me, and I turned to see a grin on his face.

"What?" I asked him, very confused.

"That's Dumbledores writing" he explained, gesturing towards the letter. I was now very confused as to why Professor Dumbledore was writing to me. Slowly, I opened the letter and took in the words,

_**'Miss Turner,**_

_**I am very pleased to hear about the good progess your hand has made. I feel that it would now be appropriate for you to come and see me this evening at 7pm with regards to a certain aspect of your school life. Don't stay out by the lake for too long, we've already seen enough of you in the Hospital Wing.**_

_**Regards,**_

_**Professor Dumbledore**_

_**P.S I do rather enjoy a lemon drop'**_

When I finished reading I instantly looked up and over my shoulder at the castle.

"So, what does he want to see you for?" James asked me, making sure to keep his eyes averted off of the piece of parchment in my hands.

"Just about school stuff" I explained, showing him the letter. He took it hesitantly as his eyes scanned it, smiling slightly at the mention of the Hospital Wing.

"Oh yeah, what does he mean by the last bit?" I asked him, having been confused by it when I first read it.

"That's the password up to his office" James told me, handing me the letter back. I nodded as I once again skimmed over the letter.

"Better do as he says then" I said after a few more minutes.

"What's that then?" came Sirius' husky voice from beside me. I jumped slightly, having completely forgotten he had been sitting there. I turned to face him, to see a small smile on his face. I showed the letter to him and a slight frown appeared. He looked up at me, and I could see the question burn in his eyes. However, he suprised me by just shaking his head slightly and handing the letter back to me. Sirius then shifted himself up and held out his hand and I gratefully took it as he helped me up. I stumbled on my way up and one of his hands went almost automatically to my waist, steadying me. I looked up to see him smiling broadly down at me, not dropping either of his hands.

"Ahem". My eyes widened in suprise as I turned and saw James standing there, grinning madly. Sirius' hand slowly dropped from my waist but he still held my hand in his. I think James saw that as he rose his eyebrows at Sirius but said nothing.

"What time is it Ally?" James asked me as we walked. I glanced at my watch which was still residing on my left wrist.

"Just gone twelve" I informed him. We carried on walking in a slight silence, and in this time I allowed my mind to reel back to the beginning of my week here - with Sirius asking to take my hand to feel my temperature and then continuing to hold it all the way back up to the castle. All the thoughts and feelings that had been present then all came flooding back now. I was so immersed in them that I was completely oblivious to my surroundings. It was only when I felt a gentle squeeze of my hand that I looked up, suprised. Sirius was looking at me, apparently very amused.

"Back with us now?" James asked, and I turned to see him grinning at me. I gave a sheepish smile in return as I shrugged. I could hear James chuckle as we finally reached the castle. Walking in I felt a slight warm air hit me, feeling even warmer than usual due to the cold air outside. It was now that I felt Sirius drop my hand, and turning I saw him give me an almost...sad smile. I was slightly suprised by this but didn't have another moment to properly think about it as we made our way into the busy Great Hall. It was much warmer in here, and I felt myself warming up significantly.

"Decided to show up at last I see" came a sarcastic comment from the right of us. I stopped walking as I turned to see Fiona smirking at us. I just rolled my eyes as I took a seat, watching as the two boys took a seat either side of me.

"Nice walk?" she asked us, sitting back and simply looking at us, having already apparently finished her own lunch. I nodded my head in response but she said nothing else as we continued to eat our lunch in silence.

After lunch we all went back up to the common room, and I quickly went to grab a jumper as I still wasn't completely warm. I noted how the dormitory had been cleaned up and there was no trace of any more than four girls in there last night. I spent the rest of the day with Sirius, James, Remus and Fiona. Lily was with Luke, and Alice was with the other girls. It was a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon, although the others all ended up actually doing some work when Remus got on their case about it. Both me and Remus had completed all of our school work and so we sat back as they moaned about their work. The day wore on and soon enough I found myself sitting in the Great Hall with the others eating dinner. After a while we were joined by all the girls and then Luke and Lily. At the arrival of the latter two, James went extremely quiet and diverted his attention from them. Everyone was immersed in their own conversations as I glanced down at my watch, seeing that it was already 6.45.

"Could you show me the way up to Professor Dumbledore's office?" I quietly asked James who was sitting right next to me. He smiled and stood up quickly, as I too stood.

"Where are you two off to?" Lily asked, having noticed us get up. Out of the corner of my eye I could see James grinning as he suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he answered mysteriously, tugging me out of the Great Hall. I could sense that we had left a rather large silence on the others, and the minute we were beginning to walk up the stairs James turned to me, massive grin on his face.

"I love doing that to them" he told me as we walked. I just shook my head and sighed,

"I can tell". He just continued to grin like a maniac, as he began to lead me in a direction I hadn't yet been in. I settled into a small silence as I pulled out the map in my head, now adding to the maze of corridors and stairs I had already built up.

"And here we are" James announced after a while. I came to an abrupt stop as I looked at the two stone gargoyles sitting either side of what seemed to be just a jut in the wall. I turned to him, with a slightly hesitant look on my face.

"You'll see. Good luck". And with that he turned and left me to it. I frowned and got out the letter, saying the password to the waiting gargoyles. I was suprised when I began to hear the sound of movement, and watched as a staircase began ascending and I hurridly went and took a step on it, looking upwards as I approached, what I assumed to be the office. Finally, the stairs stopped moving and I found myself facing a large door, with a golden door knocker. Remembering my manners, I knocked on the door before hearing a voice telling me to come in. Slowly, I opened the door and stepped into the circular office. Looking straight ahead, I found myself staring at Professor Dumbledore's desk, behind which he was sitting. He smiled as he set down his quill, and beckoned me over to the chair that sat infront of his desk. Quietly, I made my way over and gracefully sat down on the chair.

"Good evening Miss Turner" he greeted politely, bowing his head in ackowledgement.

"Good evening Professor" I replied, keeping my tone polite to match his.

"Well now. I have spoken to Doctor Ford and he has informed me that your hand has healed perfectly. Naturally, he has assessed your medical records and notes, and sees no problem in allowing your transformation to occur" he rounded off, informing me of everything in on breath. I couldn't help but allow a large smile to take a place on my face, knowing that the tension I had felt building up in me should soon be released. I nodded my head, to show I had understood, and waited for him to continue.

"I assume that you would be more than pleased to allow your shift to occur tonight. However, there are, of course, some terms that you will need to abide by" he told me, a slight frown appearing on his face. I allowed the smile to slip so that it looked like I was taking him seriously.

"First of all: under no circumstances are you allowed to fully enter the Forbidden Forests. The very, very outskirts are the furthest you are allowed in. Secondly: you must try and stay as inconspicious as possible. Given the nature of your shift I'm sure you'll be able to easily comply with that one. Thirdly: Do not stay out too late. I understand you need a fair amount of time, but not an hour beyond curfew. And fourthly: you must come and see me before each shift" he whittled off quickly. I was left feeling completely suprised by his speech.

"You're allowing me to go outside sir?" I asked him, just to make sure that I had heard correctly. He nodded his head, a smile appearing.

"Of course Miss Turner. You need to gain the optimum amount of exercise required" Professor Dumbledore reassured me. I was still silent for a few minutes longer, remembering my days of shifting in Beauxbatons when I was not allowed outside at all.

"Well, that is all Miss Turner. I assume you would like to go and have a run?" he asked me after a while longer. I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, bringing me out of my thoughts. I smiled up at him,

"Yes, thankyou very much Professor" I told him gratefully, jumping up from my seat. He just nodded his head and waved his hand, and I took this as a dismissal as I hurried out of his office and down the spiralling staircase. Ending up back in the corridor, I glanced down at my watch to see that it was just gone 7.15. The Great Hall should be empty, so I quickly made my way down the many staircases. I could feel the excitement and anticipation running through my blood, making me move faster. But I made a concious effort to slow down significantly as I approached the Great Hall. People were still drifting out, and I made my way outside as slowly as my body would allow. The cold air hit me forcefully, making me shiver but I paid only slight attention to it, knowing I would be much warmer quickly. I made my way further into the dark evening, my feet taking me on a set path. I didn't quite know where I was aiming for, but it seemed my subconcious did when I found myself at the very edge of the forest. Shivering, I took a quick glance round before stepping into the dark shadows of the trees. I stopped abruptly, and looked round, seeing the pitch black ahead of me. Knowing that I was still well within my boundaries, I took a few deep steadying breaths. As I done so I slowly shut my eyes, allowing the concentration to engulf my mind, thinking about what I needed to become. It wasn't long before I felt a familiar heat flooding through my body, pulling at all of my limbs, bringing them closer together. In the next few seconds, the pulling sensation stopped and I opened my eyes, looking at the much improved view around me.

**James' POV**

I had left Ally and made my way back up to the common room, finding myself face to face with Padfoot.

"Padfoot old chap" I greeted him cheerily, slapping him on the back as I took a seat on the sofa in front of the fire. He took a seat opposite me, a slight frown on his face. I knew what all that was about and just as he opened his mouth to say something I decided to ease his mind.

"Nothing, is going on" I told him, rolling my eyes as I done so. I could see him hesitate for a second, seeming as if he was going to argue but then he sat back in his seat.

"So what shall we do tonight?" I asked him, feeling boredom tugging at me. I hated sitting round doing nothing, and I had an idea in mind but Pad beat me to it.

"How about we go for a run?" he asked, grin on face as he stood up and stretched.

"Sometimes you just read my mind" I replied, matching the grin on his face as we both began to make our way out of the common room.

"Wheres Moony?" I asked him suddenly, stopping in my tracks just outside of the portrait.

"Library" Pad informed me, shaking his head and sighing in exhasperation. I joined him in the head shaking as we continued on our way downstairs. The library? I honestly don't see the attraction to it. I mean, who wants to voluntarily continue working on into the night? Well, apart from the Ravenclaws that is. Some things are just a mystery to me.

Soon enough we were both standing outside in the cool night air. There had still be people at dinner but we had successfully managed to avoid the crowds and get outside without anyone noticing us. The both of us sped up as we made our way over to the outskirts of the forest, feeling the adrenaline rush through our bodies, moving us on. Soon enough we reached the safety of a few trees and in the next few moments I could feel my bones crunching and changing. It was a split second of pain before I could see the forest infront of me in a whole new light.

**Ally's POV**

The feeling was amazing as I let myself go, running smoothly and quietly through the trees; my feet padding on the soft earth. After a good 15 minutes of just flat out running I took a slight pause, looking warily out of the trees. I scanned for anything that would make me retreat further into the forest, finding nothing unusual; just a couple of shadows in the near distance. I stood stock still and allowed my senses to take over. Staring into the place where I saw the shadows, I looked closer. I sniffed into the air but there was little wind meaning I couldn't catch the scent. Instead, I went on the defense, waiting and watching as the two shadows became slightly closer. Knowing I couldn't take a chance I quietly, yet swiftly, jumped up onto one of the lower hanging branches of tree I had been standing against. I crouched low on the bark, and sat breathing quietly, waiting for the shadows to pass.

It seemed however, that they were taking their time. Soon they became closer and my eyes widened in shock. Standing just a slight distance away was a stag....and my patronus. At first I couldn't believe it, thinking my eyes had seen something that they just wanted to see. But after blinking rapidly several times I noticed that it was indeed a large, shaggy, black dog. It stopped suddenly, and I watched hesitantly as it sniffed the air. It then turned in my direction, and I knew in that instant that my scent had been caught. I didn't move, instead chosing to sit there as it softly padded up and sat down at the base of the tree, looking up at me. I was slightly shocked that it hadn't instantly begun chasing me (I mean everyone knows that cats and dogs don't get on right?) and so sat there as it continued to stare up at me. After a few more minutes of hesitation on my behalf it barked up at me, and took a few steps back; wagging its tail. I stood up on the branch and stretched; it had been a long time since I had decided to clamber up a tree. Deciding that if this dog was a clever one and was just enticing me down to chase me, I knew I could easily out run it. I therefore, jumped down softly on all fours, but made no attempt to move. The dog gave me a soft bark and wagged its tail at a much faster rate and seemingly grinned at me. Cautiously, I stalked out of the shadow of the trees, still keeping my distance. Taking a qiuck look round I could still see the stag standing some way off and it seemed to look almost puzzled by the whole situation. The dog however, seemed to be in its element as it came bounding over towards me, causing me to retreat a few steps back in slight alarm. It stopped abruptly, and then barked softly at me. It was almost as if it was telling me that it wasn't going to chase me or anything. I picked up a paw hesitantly, letting it linger above the ground before I placed it back down and walked forward, keeping my body low to the ground. The dog stood perfectly still as I slowly circled it, picking up on a familiar scent. I paused, and cocked my head to the side slightly, trying to place the smell. However, it seemed that the dog was getting bored and quickly bound over to the stag, barking up at it. Very gracefully, the stag then made it's way over to me and circled me. It was much bigger and so I crouched, getting ready to flee at the first sign of danger. But after circling a few times it lifted its head and looked up at the dog, giving a nod of its head. It was like they were communicating. It should have struck me as odd that these two animals would even be seen with each other in the first place, but now it really hit home just how strange this situation was. But I wasn't given a second chance to consider it as the dog once again came right up to me and nudged me slightly before running away like a mad thing. It stopped as it realised I wasn't chasing it, and shook it's head in an almost frustrating manner. It barked again, and then ran away, the stag brushing past me and following. Thinking that I would be able to solve this strange case soon, I decided to pad after them, catching up with the two animals easily.

The next hour or so passed with us playing chase. Both the dog and the stag seemed to think this was a great game and it admittedly felt nice to just let my inhibitions go and have fun. After a while of this, we all grew tired and so retreated to the shadows of the trees to lay down. I laid down flat on my stomach, resting my head on my paws, watching as the two animals were having a conversation with their eyes. It was a strange and slightly comical sight and after half a second or so the stag lay down in front of me, the dog padding over to my side. I lifted my head, slightly confused by this arrangment. But, the dog gave nothing away as it laid itself down next to me, looking down at me. After a few more seconds, it gave me the look that seemed to be almost a grin before it's eyes widened and it jumped up instantly on its feet, turning to face into the forest. The action scared me and I too jumped up, backing away slightly until I hit a tree. The stag was now on its feet as well, and took a place next to the dog which emitted a low threatening growl. I had no idea what was going on and cleared my mind, once again allowing my sense to over take me. Sniffing the air around me I could smell a faint hint of something...unusual. I had no clue what it was but my body put itself on alert and my eyes scanned the forest ahead. However, I was stopped on my search when the dog came up to me and nudged me, almost pushing me out of the forest slightly. I pushed my own strength against it but it was slightly stronger and so won the battle, eventually pushing me right out of the trees. Once out, it looked down at me and licked the top of my head before looking pointedly up at the castle. Oh. It wanted me to leave. Again, I felt my head cock to the side but it just shook its head and barked, giving me one last push before running straight back into the forest. I stook stock still, completely beweildered by the situation. Evidently, there was some sort of danger present and the dog had wanted me to go. But why? I was torn, go back to the castle or go back into the forest. However, I knew that if I went back I was putting myself in danger, and would probably be shoved back out again anyways. With this in mind I softly padded quickly back up to the castle, stopping when I hit a few bushes. Going behind them, I shut my eyes and concentrated on what I needed, feeling the fire burn in my blood as my body moved upwards. Once back in my human form, I felt the severity of the coldness hit me, and I hurried inside; using my Etoileige abilities to speed up to the common room in a matter of seconds. Once up in the safety and warmth of the room, I hurried over to the large window, scanning the darkened grounds. I took no notice of the few people around me, instead waiting and watching for any signs of movement. After 10 minutes of intense searching I slumped down onto one of the available chairs, giving up on my search.

"What's up?" I heard Fiona ask as she took a seat next to me. I looked up at her and just shrugged, sending her a smile.

"Oh nothing, just a bit tired" I told her, which was partially true. She just looked at me but said nothing more on the matter.

"Where've you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!" she now exclaimed, looking intently at me for a reply.

"I went to see Professor Dumbledore then I went to the library quickly" I told her, suprised at how quickly the lie came out. However, it wasn't totally a lie so I felt safe in knowing that the full purple colour wouldn't appear in my eyes noticably.

"Admittedly, I didn't check in there" Fiona replied with a grin. I just shook my head as she begun to fill me in on things I had apparently missed at dinner, but I allowed my mind to drift slightly. Glancing out of the window I found myself hoping that both the dog and the stag would be okay, and I wondered whether I would see the both of them again.....


	17. Unexpected Events

**A/N: Wahey, chapter 17. Thankyou thankyou to those who reviewed, reviews make me smile. Anyways, I wish you all a very merry chistmassy, and happy holidays. Enjoy guys!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine**

**Ally's POV**

I hadn't yet figured out the mystery of the stag and the dog. It had been nearly two weeks since my little adventure and I was no closer to finding out any more about it. I knew that Professor Dumbledore would have looked over my notes to see how often I would need to change and so I knew I wasn't safe to go and ask him to shift before the neccessary time. I kept my eyes open for any signs of strangeness, anything odd occuring out in the grounds. But I heard or saw nothing. However, I wasn't given much time to really dwell on it as everyone was talking about the Halloween dance. Everywhere I went it was the only topic of conversation, girls talking about what they would wear, who was going with who. The boys, it seemed, weren't too excited about it although I wasn't too suprised by this piece of information. It was three days before the ball was due to occur and Professor Dumbledore was allowing us tomorrow to go down to Hogsmede. This was all well and good if you had some idea of what outfit you wanted. I had sent off a letter to Sienna, asking if she had any ideas but hadn't received a reply as of yet. Sitting at breakfast with Fiona (who was up suprisingly early), the morning post came as per usual, this time something of interest arriving. Luna swooped down, letter attached for me. I gave her a gentle stroke before retrieving the letter and having a quick scan.

"Ahhh, here are my two favourite girls" came James' voice as he sat himself between me and Fiona.

"Where else would we be at breakfast?!" Fiona exclaimed, having just finished eating. James just shrugged as he piled his plate full of food, and it was only now that I caught sight of a long, but faint, scratch along his cheek.

"James, how'd you get that scratch?" I asked him, a slight frown on my face. I watched as he hesitated for a fraction of a second before replying.

"Absoloutly no idea. You know what me, Sirius, Remus and Peter are like" he said casually, not meeting my eyes. I looked over at Fiona who also had a slight frown and was watching James carefully. She saw me and just shrugged her shoulders before she looked at the letter in my hand.

"Any ideas?" Fiona asked, indicating the letter. I shrugged and handed it over to her so that she could have a look for herself.

"Oh wow, there's some good ones here!" she exclaimed, looking up at me with a broad smile on her face. I shrugged, not having properly read it due to James' arrival.

"What are you going as James?" I asked him, only just regretting the question seeing him with his mouth stuffed full of food.

"You know what, I can wait for an answer" I told him hurridly. He grinned as he thankfully finished his mouth full before replying.

"No idea. I'll just find something nearer the time" he said before delving back into food.

"But we've got tomorrow to go down to get something!" Fiona exclaimed, clearly exhasperated by her cousins laid back attitude. James just shrugged, not really paying much attention. Fiona just stared at him and shook her head as she continued scanning the letter.

"Good morning my three favourite people" Sirius' voice came drifting close by, him now taking a seat opposite us. Fiona and James grinned at him, and I blushed slightly. As with James this morning, I only just noticed a long scratch running up the length of his arm where he didn't have his jumper on.

"Sirius, how did you get that scratch?" Fiona asked him, mimicking my earlier question to James. I saw him hesitate for a second (much like James had done) before he shrugged.

"Merlin only knows" came his laid back reply as he too began to pile up his plate with a ridiculous amount of food. Me and Fiona exchanged looks but said nothing else as we prepared ourselves for our day at school.

The day flew by as did the evening and before I knew it I found myself waking up to face Thursday. Today, luckily, lessons were cancelled for the day as today was the day Professor Dumbledore had given us all permission to go down to Hogsmede. I woke up at the usual time of seven and groaned as I realised I didn't have to get up at this time today.

"You up too huh?" I heard Lily ask from across the room, and I sat up to see Lily sitting up in her own bed.

"Yeah, always when you don't have to" I said slightly exhasperatedly, throwing myself back down on the bed.

"Looking forward to the dance?" Lily asked, and I could hear her get up and start to shuffle about the room.

"Yeah it should be good fun, are you?" I asked politely, turning on my side so that I could see her properly.

"Yeah I really am!" she exclaimed happily, and quite loudly. She stopped as she looked over at Fiona who had been the one to move, and she now sat up looking extremely groggy.

"Eurgh, Ally's still in bed. What time is it?" she asked, looking over at me.

"Erm, just gone seven" I admitted and she groaned loudly before rolling back over on her side, pulling the covers over her head. Lily just looked slightly amused by the situation as she bustled off into the bathroom. A silent five minutes passed until Fiona huffed again and threw the covers off of her.

"I'm gunna kill you two. I can't get back to sleep now" she announced, coming over to my bed and sitting herself down on it.

"Right you. You can come out for a fly with me" Fiona told me, arms folded. I looked sceptically at her,

"I don't do the whole flying thing Fiona" I replied, sitting up in bed.

"You do now" she said, grinning wildly. I groaned at her and then decided to compromise.

"I'll come with you, but I'll go for a run. Deal?" I asked her. Fiona looked slightly beweildered by my suggestion.

"What?" I asked, now feeling confused myself.

"You run?" she asked me, a smile slowly creeping on her face.

"If I feel like it....or I'm forced into it" I replied, smiling myself.

"Hmmm, interesting" she remarked, eyebrow raised. Lily then chose that moment to come out of the bathroom and Fiona jumped off of the bed, hurrying over to her own bed.

"Come on Ally. Chop chop" Fiona said, now sounding very enthustiastic.

"Where are you two off to then?" Lily asked as she quickly made her bed and rummaged around in her school bag.

"I'm going for a fly and Ally's coming for a run" Fiona whittled off quickly as she dashed into the bathroom. Lily looked over at me with confusion on her face but I just shook my head.

"Don't ask" was all I said as I pushed myself out of bed and began looking in my trunk for something to wear. Rummaging through I couldn't find anything at all, but I knew that Sienna must have packed something given my shifting. Aha. Finally, right at the bottom I found two items folded with a note attached:

**'**_**ONLY**__**for shifting or running or any other form of exercise'**_

I couldn't help but smile a little at Sienna's written reminder. I opened up the folded pieces of clothes and couldn't help but let out a small sigh. A pair of black shorts with a red, fitted polo top. I was glad that at least the shorts were slightly baggy. At this moment Fiona burst out of the bathroom, all ready in a simple pair of tracksuit bottoms and white t-shirt. I got up and exchanged places with her, not looking forward to going out in minimal clothing at this time of year.

Fifteen minutes later found me and Fiona walking over to the Quidditch Pitch. The school was still almost empty, with most people taking advantage of the no lessons to get up much later than they usually would. The air was absoloutly freezing; typical October weather in England I had been told. Fiona was ambling along, taking all the time in the world, but I knew I wouldn't be able to walk this slowly for much longer.

"I'm going to freeze if I don't get moving. I'll meet you at the pitch in a bit" I told her, and instantly began to run, not giving her a chance to stop and say anything in return. I remembered to keep myself running at a semi-normal pace, my mind noting the fact that people were able to see me. I stuck to running simply just round the castle and it felt so nice to just come out and have a run. The wind swept through my tied up hair, and the cold air entering my lungs felt like it was cleaning them out. I always got this feeling when I shifted as well and I made a resolution to come out for a run at any given oppertunity.

**Sirius' POV**

It was still early morning, and James had decided to wake me up seeing as he couldn't sleep. How generous of him. I had plans to get him back anyway......So here we were walking down to the Quidditch Pitch after James had insisted on going for an early morning fly. However, it looked like we weren't going to be alone. Flying frantically around the pitch looked to be Fiona.

"Is that Fi up there?" James questioned, squinting his eyes slightly.

"Yeah, think so. Odd that she's up so early" I remarked, quickly jumping onto my broom and going off to meet her. She made a sharp turn, which meant that she now saw me. Too say she looked a little shocked could be a bit of an understatement.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?" she demanded, flying over to hover beside me.

"I could ask you the same thing" I replied, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the grin that appeared on her own face.

"Ally and Lily woke me up. But it's okay, I got my revenge. Well it wasn't really revenge in the end.." Fiona began to ramble on and I ended up losing concentration and allowed my eyes to scan over the grounds. Suddenly, a figure running by the lake caught my eye. I frowned slightly as I squinted in the distance, trying to see who it was.

"...so Ally's out running and here I am". I caught the last part of Fiona's ramblings and was momentarily suprised.

"Ally runs?" I asked, curious as to the response.

"Evidently so" Fiona told me, a slight smirk on her face.

"That girl just gets better and better hey Pad?" James asked. I jumped slightly, not having noticed him join us before. I just shook my head at his response, but I could see him and Fiona exchange a look. I knew I would be questioned if I hung round much longer and so I took off, beginning to fly a few laps round the pitch, hearing James whizz past me as he put on a show of speed.

"Show off" I muttered quietly to myself before taking off after him.

**Ally's POV**

I had no idea how long I had been running, but I was now nice and warm from getting my heart to pump the blood round my body at a much faster rate. I decided to stop for the morning, and jogged over to the Quidditch pitch to see if Fiona was finished. I was slightly suprised when I saw her laying on the grass with James and Sirius beside her. I slowed down to a walk as I gradually drew closer, and they looked up as they heard the sound of my footsteps approaching. Fiona smiled happily up at me, James done a double take and Sirius' eyes widened. This caused me to blush, as I suddenly felt extremely self-concious in my shorts and polo top.

"Nice run?" Fiona asked me, as I came to a stop close by them.

"Err, yeah I did thanks" I said quickly, trying not to look at the two boys. Fiona frowned slightly at my apparent uncomfortableness and looked at the two boys, whacking the two of them as she done so.

"Quit the staring" she told him, which caused me to blush even more. I shuffled my feet anxiously as I stood there, failing to make eye contact with any of them.

"I'm starving, let's go get some breakfast" Fiona said abruptly, pushing herself off of the grass and standing next to me.

"Coming you two?" she asked the two boys, and I looked up at this point to see James looking fixedly at Fiona and Sirius staring at the grass. Both of them nodded their head as they too heaved themselves off of the ground, and Fiona began to walk as I fell into step beside her.

"Did you have a good fly?" I asked her, trying to ease myself out of the uncomfortable situation.

"Yeah, was really nice to come out for a morning fly" she told me, and I could sense the energy she felt in her voice. I smiled at her as we continued our walk up to the castle in relative silence, just listening to the morning sounds aorund us.

It didn't take us too long until we were in the Entrance Hall and about to go into the Great Hall when we were stopped.

"Aren't you going to get changed first?" James questioned, jogging to catch up with us before we walked in. Fiona looked a little confused by this statement, as was I.

"What's the point in going up to get changed and then back down again? We might as well eat while we're down here" she told him, slight frown on her face. However, both James and Sirius also frowned at her.

"But.....you should go and get changed first" James pestered, and I got the distinct feeling there was something else he wanted to say. Fiona crossed her arms as she stood there.

"Spit it out" came her short reply.

"Spit what out?" James asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

"There is some reason why you don't want us to go in there. Now tell me why" she said slowly, as if she was talking to a child. James exchanged looks with Sirius and it seemed that the two of them were having a silent conversation, reminding me of something else in that instance...

"No reason" came James' voice, interrupting my thoughts.

"Then there's no problem with us going in" Fiona replied, grabbing my arm and marching me into the Great Hall. As we walked, she threw the two boys a look over her shoulder and soon enough both of them soon joined us.

"You'll see why" James muttered under his breath, but seeing as he was standing next to me I was very able to hear the comment. We hadn't walked far into the Hall when several wolf whistles sounded. Confused, I looked up to see a numerous amount of boys looking in our direction either grinning or with their eyes wide.

"I did try..." James sighed, and I turned to see a very slight smile on his face. I blushed, as it suddenly registered what he had been trying to tell us; both his and Sirius' reaction on the Quidditch pitch and now this. I hurridly upped my speed and quickly made it to our usual spot on the Gryffindor table, having beaten the other three.

"Ally Turner. If Max was here he wouldn't be impressed" came Luke's voice. I turned to see him standing behind me, slight frown on his face as he scanned the Hall. Everynow and then he would stare at somebody heatedly until they turned away, and soon enough the commotion in the Great Hall died down.

"But he's not here" I pointed out sarcastically and Luke just rolled his eyes. By this time James, Sirius and Fiona had joined us, and the two boys looked slightly sheepish.

"You know what I mean. Look at the stares you attracted" he told me, still frowning. I blushed a little at his comment and Fiona decided to interrupt.

"Hey, it's not her fault she's hot!" she exclaimed, a massive grin on her face. All four of us turned to stare at her and she just shrugged her shoulders.

"You're all thinking it. I'm just the one that voiced it" she said in a very sing song voice. Luke looked rightly disgusted, James looked faintly embaressed and Sirius just sat there with the faint trace of a grin forming.

"That, Fiona. Is just wrong on so many levels" Luke finally said, shaking his head as he moved off to his own table.

"Yeah he's right. That really is. He's like my brother!" I exclaimed, backing him up. Fiona just shrugged,

"But he must know that you're hot" she concluded, looking up at me with a grin. I just shook my head as I began to get myself some breakfast, occassionally looking up at her to stare in slight disbelief.

The rest of the morning passed rather quickly, and before I knew it I was walking down to Hogsmede with the girls. It was a cold day out, not having warmed as the morning progressed. All of the others were just dressed in a coat, but I had quite a few layers on, including scarf and gloves. Fiona had laughed quite a lot at my attire, and had only just finished mocking me now. I was relatively quiet on the walk down as I was taking in the scenary around me; the journey up had been in relative darkness and I hadn't been able to see any of it properly. The area around the castle was beautiful, surrounded by hills and greenery it was so calm and soothing. However, I was soon jogged out of my thoughts as we approached the village, and my eyes widened as I tried to take in everything I could.

"Right, the usual guys?" Lily asked, taking charge as normal. The rest of the girls, minus myself and Mandy, nodded excitedly, now surging further into the village. Keeping up with them was easy as they began to now move down several back streets, finally stopping outside a relatively small shop. Nonetheless, it looked beautiful from the outside, the displays in the window giving me high hopes for the interior. I started as I heard the bell on the shop door go, and realised everyone else had started going in and I hurried in after them, the warm air greeting me nicely.

"Ah my favourite customers! It's lovely to see you again girls". Looking round I saw a middle aged women hurrying towards us, arms outstretched and a broad smile on her face. Lily, Fiona, Alice, Susan and Lizzy all greeted her and engaged her in conversation quickly. Sensing that they could be talking for a while I decided to go and take a peek round the shop, walking slowly past all the rails. There was a complete mixture of clothing, anything you could possibly need; both formal and informal. I had been so caught up in looking at the clothes that I hadn't registered someone calling out my name.

"Here you are" Fiona's head popped out from round the corner, smile on face.

"Come on, we need the list!" she exclaimed, now pulling me forward in the direction of the others, and I began to prepare myself for a long day ahead.

Still shopping. The girls had inisted they sort me out first which involved them forcing me to try absoloutly everything on. This then meant that I had been reduced to sitting outside the changing room watching as they all put things on....then took them off again...then put them back on....The whole process made me feel dizzy and I was completely bored. I was never one for shopping which infuriated Sienna quite a bit, but made Max endlessly happy. Usually Sienna and Sarah would go off shopping and me and Max would do something, sometimes with Phil. It was the pattern into which we had fallen and this shopping trip was breaking that for me right now.

"I'm just going to go and have a look round the shop" I called out to all the girls. They all shouted back at me to look our for something or another and I just shook my head as I retreated into the shop a little more. I had been suprised by how big it had been when I first looked round, and it still seemed to stretch out quite some way. Now, however, I had found myself towards the front of the shop, right by the door. Looking out I could see the odd person or two in the streets. As I carried on just gazing out of the window a group of boys caught my attention and I saw that on closer inspection that it was, in fact, the Marauders. It was as if they had heard my thoughts as they all looked up from their conversation, only one set of eyes finding me. Remus smiled and said something to the others before he made his way over to the shop. I glanced round and saw no-one in sight and so, as quietly as I could, I slipped out of the shop. The air was freezing to my body which had previously been warm. I had left my coat, gloves and scarf in the shop and so was only in my jumper, jeans and plimsoles.

"Hi Ally" Remus greeted cheerfully as we finally reached speaking distance.

"Hi Remus" I greeted politely in return, trying to control the shivering. I saw him frown as he took in my appearance, the cloggs turning in his mind. After a few more seconds of silence he quickly shrugged his jacket off and handed it to me. I shook my head instantly,

"No, no you need it. I'm fine" I told him, smiling. He just returned it although his eyebrows were slightly raised.

"You're clearly very cold and I'm really quite warm" he insisted, shoving his jacket towards me. I smiled gratefully up at him before quickly putting the plain black jacket on. It wasn't overly thick, but then it wasn't too thin either.

"Having a good time here then?" he asked, as he gestured for me to walk with him. I fell into step beside him as I zipped up the front of the jacket, trying to retain as much heat as possible.

"Yeah it's been good" I told him, referring to my walk down here and not sitting in the shop completely bored.

"Shopping good?" he asked, and I turned to see a small grin on his face. I shrugged, thinking that I might as well be honest.

"Shopping's never been....big in my books. I'd rather not do it in all honesty" I replied, smiling up at him.

"The first girl I've met that doesn't like shopping" he said, shaking his head in mock disbelief. I nudged him gently as we continued walking, and I looked round at our surroundings.

"So, would you like to join us for a drink?" Remus asked after a while, leading me back onto what seemed to be the main street.

"You look like you could do with some warming up" he continued with a grin. I nodded enthustiastically and he led me further up the street to a small pub. On entering there was a welcoming warm gust of air and we moved further into the crammed place. It seemed everyone was in here and Remus led me over to a relatively small table close to another set of doors, around which was seated James and Sirius. Both of them looked up as we approached, grins on both of their faces. However, Sirius' faltered as he took in my appearance. I saw him cast a glance at Remus who just rolled his eyes and shook his head, before turning his attention back to me and then held out a chair. I smiled at him as I took a seat on the offered chair, before he went off to the bar.

"Bored already?" James asked, a large grin on his face.

"Kinda" I admitted with a small shrug, smiling at him. He laughed as he shook his head,

"A girl who doesn't like shopping" was all he said by means of an explanation. Unsure of how to respond, I just rolled my eyes as I shuffled in my seat slightly.

"Where's Peter?" I asked suddenly, only just realising that he was missing.

"Detention with McGonagall" Sirius told me, James' attention having drifted. Turning to him, I could see a small frown on his face as he looked at someone else. I followed his line of sight and saw Baker had just arrived and was now scanning the area. I looked away hastily, and focused my attention on the table infront of me.

"Siri!" I heard her shrill, very annoying voice call out and I heard James groan beside me. I looked up hesitantly to see Chloe standing behind an empty chair between Sirius and James.

"Chloe" Sirius replied shortly, and I turned to see him looking up at her with a bored expression on his face.

"I may just join you" she said, as she sat herself down at the table, moving the chair over slightly so that she was sitting closer to Sirius. As a result of this movement, James then shuffled his chair so that he was sitting right next to me. Immediately she began talking to Sirius at a rapid speed as James turned to me.

"Kill me now" he groaned, although there was a faint smile on his face.

"If I done that you'd be leaving me on my own so most definently not" I replied quietly, a grin on my face. James shook his head slightly as I saw his eyes flicker up to Sirius and Chloe.

"Her voice alone is the most annoying thing I've ever heard" he continued, not bothering to keep his voice down. I laughed a little, although I did try to keep it discreet.

"What?! It really is, so moany and high pitched I'm suprised dogs don't respond to it. Although, I guess that's why Sirius can hear it best" he continued, a massive grin on his face. I, however, was left feeling extremely confused by his previous comment. I wasn't given a chance to voice my confusion as Chloe's voice reached new heights.

"Aww. Don't you two make a lovely couple". I just stared at her, in slight disbelief at her comment. Sirius was also staring at her, although there was a very large frown on his face, his eyes now alternating between looking at me and James. Then, the unexpected happened. James leant back in his chair and placed an arm around my shoulders, pulling me even closer to him. I looked up at him in time to see a massive grin plastered on his face as his eyes met my own. There was a twinkle of mischief present in them and he sent me a wink which went unnoticed by the other two.

"We've been told many times before" he replied cockily, and I could see Baker smile sickeningly.

"I have the most amazing idea! We should totally double date!" she exclaimed, moving so that she was nearly sitting ontop of Sirius. Sirius choked on the drink he had just taken a sip of and even James was silenced momentarily.

"We wouldn't want to interrupt you two" James managed to spit out, although I could see he was having trouble in saying it.

"Right, we'll give you two some privacy for now" he continued as he heaved himself up, obviously wanting to leave this conversation. He then turned and offered me his hand, his eyes forcibly telling me to take it. Smiling somewhat awkwardly, I took it as he helped me up before letting go of my hand.

"Ally love. Why don't you leave Remus his jacket and have mine instead?" he said, his voice taking on mock chivalry. I simply stared at him for a few seconds before realising that he was being serious and so I shrugged off Remus' jacket and placed it on the back of the chair I had just been occupying. James then moved himself to stand behind me as he gave me a hand with his jacket. When that was done he then slipped one of his hands on my waist and I bravely took a look at Sirius and Chloe. Sirius did not look impressed and Chloe had a massive smile on her face.

"Enjoy the rest of your day" I ventured politely, going along with James' plan.

"I know we will" James said, bringing his face down so it was level with mine before dropping a kiss onto my cheek. I blushed appropriately as I looked up to see Chloe with a soppy expression on her face. However, it was Sirius who really caught my attention as he was making very subtle, but angry actions; generally by dragging a finger across his neck in an 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' action and then pointing to the two of us. James didn't linger as he pulled me towards the door and out into the cold, walking a slight way up the street before bursting into laughter.

"He is going to kill us later" he told me as he dropped his hand from my waist, shaking his head in apparent amusement.

"This was all your idea so he should just kill you really" I reasoned, although I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face.

"You went along with the plan so it's fair really" James argued back, his face full of laughter. I just shook my head, ackowledging the argument as we both began walking again.

"So, considering that we're now 'going out'" James began, making quotation marks around the 'going out'

"I would be honoured if you would be my date for the Halloween Ball" he told me, stopping and moving so that he was standing infront of me.

"Well when you put it like that....How can I refuse?" I replied, mimicking the very polite tone of voice he had used. James grinned as he moved forward and engulfed me in a hug, before he repositioned himself so that he was standing beside me as we began walking again. There was a small silence as we walked, and I took the oppertunity to look properly at the shops we were passing.

"You realise this will be all round school soon?" James commented abruptly. I turned to look at him, a smile still on his face.

"Yeah, I kinda guessed" I admitted, shrugging slightly.

"This is going to be hilarious" he continued, now breaking out into laughter. That was one thing about James' laughter; it was more or less infectious, and I found that I couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"I'm going to enjoy one thing in particular" I told him, a massive grin on my face as I suddenly realised something.

"Oh yeah and what's that? I mean you spending a lot of time with me will be very enjoyable..." he replied, trailing off cockily. I just nudged him as I shook my head.

"No no. You'll just have to deal with Luke" I said in a casual voice. The smile disappeared fully from his face and he now looked extremely worried.

"Don't worry. I'll tell him it's just a rumour" I told him at last, starting to pity the look on his face.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that" he admitted, although he didn't look fully recovered from that slight shock I had just given him. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face and he now frowned,

"What?!" he exclaimed, a smile, now beginning to form.

"Your face when I told you about Luke" I explained, still laughing.

"Oi that wasn't funny!" he retaliated, although his heart wasn't really in it.

"Was too" I aruged back childishly, grin on my face as though egging him on.

"Was not" he shot back quickly, the grin mirrored on his own face.

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too"

"CHILDREN....ENOUGH!". Me and James both jumped and turned round to see Fiona, Lizzy and Remus standing there looking very amused by our argument.

"Ha, draw" James proclaimed, now turning his attention back to me and ignoring the other three.

"No way! I got the last word so I clearly win" I argued back, crossing my arms.

"That's not fair because we were interrupted" James said, grinning at the end as I realised the double meaning behind that.

"I still got the last word" I continued, being very stubborn.

"No, no I'm not having it" he told me, shaking his head.

"What are you two even arguing about?!" Fiona exclaimed exhasperatedly. I hesitated, and James was opening and shutting his mouth.

"My point exactly" she said smugly, nodding her head.

"I still won" I whispered across to James, poking my tongue out at him.

"This isn't finished" he whispered back, grinning at me.

"And where did you disappear to?! We were looking for you for ages when we bumped into Remus in the Three Broomsticks..." Fiona began, trailing off eyebrow arched.

"Remus distracted me in the first place!" I exclaimed, now looking towards said person.

"You were the one looking bored!" he argued back, grinning. I was going to argue back but decided that he had a fair point there.

"And that ended up with you going to the Three Broomsticks and somehow you're now going out with James?" Lizzy finished off the story, grinning.

"Hey, Baker assumed was all" James said, holding his hands up in defense.

"And you just happened to go along with it" Remus interjected sarcastically.

"Exactly" James replied, nodding his head in conformation.

"You should have seen Sirius' face. Absoloute classic" James told Remus, now beginning to laugh at the memory.

"I would beg to differ" came a voice from behind us. James stopped, eyes wide. Then, without warning he grabbed my hand and began running, laughing hysterically.

We ended up running more or less all the way back up to the castle, which let me tell you is a very, very long way. I was very out of breath when we finally made it into the school grounds and James finally let me stop to breath.

"You're lucky I'm not totally unfit" I told him breathlessly as we slowed to a walk.

"You know it was fun" he replied cheekily, sounding very breathless himself. I watched as he turned and looked over his shoulder, into the distance.

"He's way away, we can afford to walk from now" he said in a reassuring voice.

"Lucky us" I murmured sarcastically.

"Well, look at it this way; at least you're warm now" James said happily as the castle began drawing ever closer.

"I was pretty much okay in your jacket" I replied, smiling at him. We continued to talk as we finally made it up to the castle, ambling along as we walked up the many stair cases eventually ending up in the common room. It was relatively empty due to everybody still being down in Hogsmede and me and James took a seat by the fire. We sat in silence for a while, and I relished the feeling of total warmth after being in the cold for quite some time.

"So did you enjoy your first trip down to Hogsmede?" James asked me after a while.

"Yeah, I did actually" I replied, turning slightly to smile at him.

"I'm glad. But just remember one thing...I won" he stated happily, grinning at me.

"Never!! I won!" I exclaimed, knowing that we could be here a while.

"I'm afraid to say that you didn't" James replied, shaking his head.

"I'm afraid to say I did" I stated, nodding my head.

"Look Ally-"

"No no James. Last word wins. Therefore I won" I said, cutting him off and smiling innocently.

"I think you both lose". We both jumped and turned to see Sirius standing right behind us, a grin on his face.

"No, no I win" James aruged, grinning up at his best friend.

"James, we've already had this argument. I win" I shot back.

"Okay, guys. Lovely as your argument is..." Sirius said, trailing off and taking a seat next to me on the sofa.

"Nice _date_ with Chloe?" James asked after a while, and I could see him trying to hold in a laugh.

"Funny Pr-James". I turned to observe Sirius who was looking at James with an almost apologetic look on his face. I said nothing but felt extremely confused by the name change, cleary there was something going on there.

"I thought it was. Ally did too" James continued, now dragging me into the conversation. Sirius turned to look at me, eyebrow raised as if daring me to agree.

"You dragged me into the whole thing" I said, trying to keep it neutral.

"Did not" James replied, grinning at our childish argument.

"Did too" I shot back, knowing where this would lead.

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Okay! Guys! Enough!" Sirius exclaimed, although I could see him grinning.

"So we win?" James asked him, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"No! It doesn't mean you win!" Sirius retaliated, folding his arms.

"I think it does" I contributed, grinning away.

"So that makes it two against one. We win" James rounded off, before holding his hand out for a hand five. I happily hit his hand and we both sat and looked at Sirius who just looked slightly beweildered by the whole thing.

"You two should stop spending time with each other" was his reply, as he shook his head.

"Well we can't exactly let that happen now..." James told him, trailing off with a massive grin on his face. I for one was slightly confused, and the look on Sirius' face told me he was as well.

"Oh come on guys. After Hogsmede and the interruption from Baker" he said, his voice taking on a slight growl at the mention of Chloe. But the message came across and I looked at him to see him grinning, watching Sirius' reaction carefully. This made me turn to him and I could see a frown cross his face and what seemed to be a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

"Not funny" he commented, frown still on his face.

"It really was" James shot back. I rolled my eyes at him,

"I'm positive we've already had this argument" I interjected, stopping Sirius from replying to James' previous comment.

"Yeah, I'm sure we won it" James muttered under his breath, but I just ignored him, instead choosing to stand up.

"And where do you think you're going?" he now asked me. I turned round to face the two of them, both watching my movements.

"I'd better go and get some work done" I told them as I began to move away from the sofa. However, I was stopped when a pair of hands at my waist pulled me down, and I ended up sitting in James' lap.

"Definently missing something". I turned to see Alice looking at me, grin on face and eyebrows raised.

"Didn't you know they're going out?!" a shrill voice exclaimed. I heard James groan and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Alice asked, whizzing round to face Chloe.

"Duh. They're going out" Chloe told Alice, in a very patronising voice. Alice frowned and didn't look too impressed by her arrival. A moments silence passed, a very uncomfortable one at that.

"Weeelll....Ally, I've got your stuff here, shall we go put it away?" Alice broke the silence, staring forcefully at me.

"Uh, yeah sure" I said, now beginning to heave myself up. However, James' hands encircled my waist keeping me there.

"You are not leaving me on my own" he whispered in my ear.

"You know what I'm really hungry" I ended up saying, now trying to get myself off of James' lap. This time he let me go and I managed to stand up, and I turned so that I was facing everyone else.

"Yeah me too, I'll come with you" James said hurridly, getting up and standing next to me.

"Coming Alice?" I asked her, not wanting to leave her on her own. She nodded enthustiastically,

"Give me one second" she told me, before quickly scurrying off to the stairs. Now that me and James had got up, Chloe sat herself down in our empty space looking extremely happy at the turn of events.

"It's so nice of you to give us some time alone" Chloe squeaked out, batting her eyelashes at Sirius. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead contented myself with a smile, which I'm pretty sure came out as a grimace. Sirius was staring straight ahead at the wall, and it looked like he was going to crack.

"You know what, I think I'll come with you" he finally said, getting up and standing on the other side of me.

"I'll come too then" Chloe told him happily, also getting up and taking a hold of his hand. In that one moment, a surge of...jealousy swept through me as my mind flashed back to the times where it had been my hand in Sirius'. I shook my head quickly, trying to get rid of the unexpected emotion that had just suddenly engulfed me.

"No, Chloe. Don't come" Sirius snapped pulling his hand out of Chloe's, and I focused my attention back to the two of them. Sirius didn't look at all happy and Chloe looked slightly taken aback.

"But it'll be fun!" she exclaimed, re-taking his hand as she done so.

"No it won't so leave it" he said icily, again taking his hand away. Instantly, a massive scowl formed on her face and it did nothing to enhance her features.

"Fine. I won't bother" Chloe snapped back at him, and she went to move away before she whispered something to him. A darkened look crossed his face, and a low growl errupted from the base of his throat, which caused me to jump slightly. Chloe sneered at him before she stormed up the stairs to the dormitory and a few seconds later we heard the slamming of a door in the distance. A moments silence passed before Sirius moved beside me.

"I'm going for a walk" he muttered, before swiftly crossing the common room and out of the portrait. I looked at James who was still staring at the place where Sirius had vanished.

"I think I'd better go talk to him" he said absently, blinking before turning to me. I nodded my head as he gave me a smile and then followed in Sirius' footsteps, vanishing as he went through the portrait. I stood where I was momentarily, thinking back to what had just happened and I couldn't help but wonder what it was that Chloe had said to Sirius to make him so angry.


	18. Halloween Dance

**A/N: Oh wow. So I have been so lame it's untrue. It has been years since I have been doing this story and I would like to apologise for this! However, I have now a little time on my hands to do some writing. There will be a few chapters going up within the next few days and then, hopefully, whenever I can get round to it! So so sorry again and hopefully the story hasn't slipped too much and you still enjoy it, fingers crossed!**

**Disclaimer: In these past few years, I still have not been able to get Harry Potter…sad times**

**Ally's POV**

The day of the dance. Eurgh. Everybody was looking forward to it, except me that is. The past few days had past in a haze of arrangement and I had found myself spending more time in the library than was usual just to escape all the giggling and chatter in the common room – all based around just one topic. Unsurprisingly, I was often joined by Edward and Jacob who told me that the Hufflepuff common room had been just the same.

"ALLY GET UP, GET UP!". You cannot be kidding me.

"Fiona?" I exclaimed sitting up in bed in absolute shock. It was only half past seven!

"Yes lazy bones come up big day ahead!" she told me as she threw herself out of bed and begun going round the dormitory waking up the other two girls. Alice was not going to be happy with that. I groaned at her excitement and pulled my duvet over my head, not looking forward to today even more now that Fiona had especially gotten up at an hour she never saw. Ever. I heard her footsteps approach my bed and was just a second too late in maintaining a firm grip on my duvet as she ripped it off, exposing me to the cold air.

"Fiona" I groaned, sitting bolt upright and grabbing my duvet again, "you do not need to be up this early for a dance which is occurring TONIGHT!" I told her.

"But we have a lot to do" came Alice's voice from across the room.

"Oh, not you too Alice?" I asked, beginning to wonder why this was such a big deal from them and what on earth could make them want to get up and spend the whole day sorting themselves out for tonight.

"Pff. You should have expected it from me, maybe not Fiona so much" she told me smirking as she slipped out of bed and begun to potter about the room.

Today was going to be a long day.

I managed to escape after breakfast, slipping off to the common room to grab some work before heading to the library. I can imagine that Fiona and Alice wouldn't be too impressed – I had kind of just sped away from them, guessing what would be coming. I would just have to face the consequences at lunch. On entering, I found that it was relatively empty, but then again most people would still be having breakfast and I begun to steadily make my way through my Ancient Runes translations, a big list of them that had been set by Professor Ford.

After half an hour Jacob and Edward found me tucked in my usual corner.

"We thought we would find you in here" Jacob grinned as he sat opposite me. I smiled sheepishly,

"That obvious, huh?" I asked and he nodded his head, laughing.

"Why are you so opposed to this dance may I ask?" Edward enquired, as he pulled up a seat on my right hand side.

"I just don't see what the big deal is. It's just a dance after all" I said with a shrug.

"Mmm I guess, but girls normally love this kind of thing" Jacob said, raising his eyebrows at me.

"I'm a girl who doesn't like shopping, what do you expect?" I asked him with a smile. He laughed as he pulled out some work and began to make a start on it.

I enjoyed spending time with Edward and Jacob. It was always easy and conversation flowed easily, which always put me in a good mood. By the time half twelve rolled around my stomach was grumbling, always a sign of a good mornings work. However, I was slightly hesitant about suggesting the Great Hall just yet as I knew that the girls would be highly unimpressed by my swift exit at breakfast.

"I am famished" Jacob announced ten minutes after my stomach rumbled, throwing his quill down.

"Thank Merlin, I neeeeed food" Edward agreed hastily beginning to shove his quill and parchment into his bag. I sighed and joined them with packing away.

I tried to make them walk slowly down to lunch but they kept moaning at me that their stomachs were eating themselves and so I had to hurry along with them.

When we finally reached the Great Hall they hurriedly sat themselves down and began spooning food onto their plates at a slightly alarming rate. Without looking round I wriggled my way into the middle of them and started putting some chicken pie onto my plate. It took two minutes for them to track me down.

"Hiding from us, by any chance?" came Fiona's voice from behind me. I cringed slightly before turning round, catching Edwards's eye and saw him grinning at me.

"Um…" I trailed off, watching her frown at me.

"Well, don't think your escaping from me this time" she said as she began to tug at me.

"Fiona I'm eating!" I exclaimed, looking at my still full plate of food. She stopped tugging me and crossed her arms instead.

"I'm sat just a bit down from you, don't think I'm not watching" she threatened before turning on her heel. I followed her to see that she was sat with Lizzy and the Marauders who were also watching her return. I spun back round in my seat to see both Edward and Jacob laughing at me.

"Absolutely gutted" Jacob managed to say in between his laughs.

"Stop laughing at me and let me enjoy this last little piece of freedom I have!" I scowled at him, continuing to enjoy my lunch.

"You look just so happy right now" Edward chuckled, and I sent a scowl in his direction as well.

"Well you laughing at me isn't helping!" I told him, swatting his shoulder, but I couldn't stop a small smile from breaking out.

"You had better hurry up, Fiona keeps shooting glances at you" he continued, as he turned to look in the direction she had disappeared in.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked in between mouthfuls, very unimpressed.

"Not at all, I'm thinking more for your benefit especially as…" he trailed off and I looked up to see where he was looking and followed his gaze. Fiona and Lizzy were standing up and making their way over. I groaned and quickly ate the last few remnants on my plate.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" I told them before they could even say anything. They grinned at me and I sighed as I got up.

"I'll see you two tonight" I grumbled to Edward and Jacob who were laughing at me (again) and they nodded their heads, looking too happy.

"You make it seem like we're punishing you" Fiona told me, frowning at me.

"That's because you are!" came a voice from behind us. I turned to see the Marauders had caught up with us.

"Honestly, you don't need all day" James continued as he moved to walk next to me.

"Exactly!" I agreed, spinning to look at Fiona.

"It won't work. You're just going to have to put up with it" she shook her head, rolling her eyes at Lizzy.

"Just make a run for it" James muttered to me.

"I already did, after breakfast. I don't think they'd forgive me if I did it again" I whispered back, and he shook his head.

"Just today and then it'll be over" he said reassuringly, sending me a small smile.

"Yeah I guess" I said with a shrug.

"What are you two whispering about?" came Lizzy's voice, and I turned to see the others looking at us as well. I just shook my head as did James. Lizzy said nothing and her and Fiona launched into another Halloween dance conversation as we made our way up to the common room. Me and James chatted away about random things and before I knew it we were through the portrait and I was being hurried upstairs very quickly; probably had a lot to do with the fact that we were smuggling Lizzy into our dormitory. Once up there it looked like a bomb had exploded; there were clothes everywhere!

"What HAVE you been doing?" I exclaimed, trying to pick a path through all the bits and bobs on the floor.

"Trying to sort ourselves out" Alice said sheepishly from where she sat on the bed.

"Looks like you were trying to make a mess!" I told them, eventually reaching the safety of my own bed and took a seat, just managing to move out of the way of Lizzy launching herself at me.

"That's the proper way to do it Ally" Lizzy told me as she straightened herself up.

"Yes, oh so ladylike" I told her grinning and she grabbed one of my pillows and whacked me with it.

"Ohhh, it's like that is it?" I asked her, reaching round and attempting to grab my other pillow as Lizzy shrieked and continued battering me with my own pillow. I eventually managed to reach it and tried my best to hit Lizzy as much as possible. We were laughing hysterically until we were both hit by pillows from somebody else. We stopped what we were doing and turned to see Fiona smiling sweetly from her own bed. Me and Lizzy looked at each other, nodded and sprung across the room, slipping and sliding on all the stuff on the floor and started hitting Fiona with our pillows. Having gotten rid of her own pillows she was utterly defenceless and her shouts were mingled with laughter as she tried to get the others to help.

"Help you say?" I could her Susan say, and, next thing I knew I was being flattened by Susan flying at us.

"Suze!" me and Lizzy exclaimed at the same time, both of us currently being squashed by Susan. It was not the most pleasant of experiences.

"I'll only move if you stop" she said, sounding quite proud of herself for managing to halt our fun.

"But why? We're having fun!" Lizzy said, sounding somewhat muffled given the fact that her face was currently being pushed into the bed.

"Today is Halloween Dance orientated" Susan said primly and I huffed.

"Well that's boring" I told her and I could hear the others sigh. Susan moved and Lizzy let out a sigh of relief.

"That's so much better" she said as she flipped onto her back and laid sprawled on Fiona's bed. I moved back to my own bed and sat, looking unimpressed. I was really not looking forward to having the girls fuss over me and began to mentally prepare myself for the afternoon ahead.

Seven o'clock rolled around at last. It had been a long afternoon where the girls had all got themselves ready and dashed about and done their hair, and sorted out their costumes and all of that kind of thing. I sneakily read whenever I got the chance which was always a good thing. After hours of watching them it was eventually my turn and they all insisted on doing it themselves. I just sat there and let them have their own way; there really was no point in arguing with them.

"Come on guys, you must be ready by now" I insisted, lazing back on my bed.

"In a minute!" came Alice's voice, as she sat on her bed with a mirror propped up in front of her. Lizzy and I had been ready for a while and now Lizzy was in the same boat as me; we were both already bored of the dance and we hadn't even got there yet.

"Luke's probably waiting for you, you know Lily" I said, knowing that if Lily was going she was bossy enough to make everybody else leave as well.

"Really?" she asked, eyebrows slightly raised although she was evidently trying to keep the smile off of her face.

"Yuhuh, he's actually quite good with timing for important events" I informed her, thinking I was maybe lying a little bit but not too much to make my eyes turn entirely purple. I could see her scrutinise me for a couple of seconds before she seemed to believe me.

"Best not keep him waiting Lils" Lizzy chipped in, seeing what I was doing.

"Come on guys! We need to get moving! It has already started you know!" she exclaimed and jumped up to start annoying the other girls. Lizzy turned and grinned at me,

"That was good" she muttered as she too stood up and offered me a hand.

"Why thank-you" I told her grinning as I took her offered hand and stood next to her, watching as the others dashed about frantically.

"He really had better be waiting you know, other wise she will probably kill you" Lizzy said as she chucked Alice's hat at her. "And actually, James is probably waiting for you as well you know" she continued, turning to smirk at me.

"Oh ha ha" I replied sarcastically. Word that James and I were going together flew through the school at an astonishingly fast rate. Honestly, it was like two people couldn't be friends anymore! James was worried about Luke but I got to him first before he could question James so he was very thankful about that. I was actually quite looking forward to going with him, I'm sure it would be fun and that's exactly what I needed.

"Right, out, out!" Lily ordered, shooing us out. I wasn't really looking forward to going, I felt a bit stupid if I'm honest.

"You look great" Lizzy muttered, obviously aware of how uncomfortable I was, clearly showing in my golden eyes. I rolled my eyes as I followed her out of the dormitory and down the stair case. The common room seemed quite quiet, but then again I guessed that most people would already be down there, as Lily had said. I was trailing behind the rest of them, walking slowly. As I got to the bottom I peeked round the corner to see that the common was indeed, pretty empty. There was still a few people milling about, obviously waiting for friends who were still getting ready and this made me a feel a little bit more comfortable.

**James's POV**

"Ally?" I called out, wondering where she was. All the other girls had come down (Evans in the lead looking….well, words can't describe) but Ally hadn't appeared yet so I guessed she was dawdling on the stairs. I made my way over, seeing that the others were preoccupied and could see her standing there.

"Alright scaredy cat" I said, leaning against the stair case. I could hear her huff which made me grin. "Seriously Ally" I continued as she still didn't move. It took a couple more seconds until she finally emerged, her eyes filled with worry.

"Looking good" I told her, still grinning. She rolled her eyes as she shuffled her feet. Like the other girls she was dressed as a pirate. She had on brown shorts, ripped and frayed at the bottom, a white, ripped blouse, brown boots and the traditional hat. Alongside all this were numerous cuts, grazes and bruises all over her, as well as a bloodstain on her shirt.

"You could have made a bit of effort you know. Ripped clothes and blood stains, honestly" I said jokingly, watching as a small smile appeared on her face.

"And you could have at least wiped the blood off your face" she replied, eyeing up the great big gash I had on my cheek.

"Honestly, you look really good" I told her as she still looked slightly anxious.

"Come on you two, we're going" I heard Fiona call. I offered Ally my hand and she laughed as she took it, somewhat reluctantly as we followed the others out.

"So what have you all come as? A Quidditch team gone horribly wrong?" she questioned as we made our way down to the Great Hall.

"Oh . We didn't have time to do anything else so we used what we had" I told her. We had left our costumes to the last minute, not really bothered about this whole dance thing (we were only going for the food, obviously) and so we had just had a lot of fun ripping our Quidditch gear and with white and red face paint.

"Best way to do it" she told me, a slight frown on her face.

"It can't have been that bad?" I asked her, slightly amused. She shrugged but didn't say anything else. I looked ahead at the others and saw Padfoot cast a glance in our direction. He saw me looking and gave a quick, half-hearted grin before spinning back round and continuing his conversation with Fi.

After some more light hearted chat we finally found ourselves outside the Great Hall and I could feel Ally hesitate.

"Come on, honestly, it'll be fine" I told her reassuringly. She smiled at me and I led her in.

It looked fantastic, as it always does for Halloween. I saw the girls all seemingly disappear, and Padfoot, Moody and Wormtail all make a beeline for the food.

"This way" I told her as I guided her through the many students all seemingly enjoying themselves.

"Take your time!" Sirius exclaimed as we approached and I just grinned at him as I began to help myself to some food. "You look, well, you look great" I heard him tell Ally and I looked up in time to see her blush a little at his words. Honestly. They both needed to sort themselves out; they were really taking their time about this whole getting together thing.

**Ally's POV**

I stood and watched as the Marauders ate a ridiculous amount of food.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" James asked me, as he stopped for breath.

"I think you're eating enough for the both of us" I told him, laughing as he just shrugged and carried on eating. I scanned the room, looking for the girls or anybody else I might know. However, everybody was in fancy dress and I couldn't really tell who was who.

"Aha, there you are!" I heard a voice exclaim from just behind me. I turned to see Edward and Jacob and gasped. Edward was dressed as the Joker from Batman.

"Oh my!" I exclaimed, taking in the intricate detail of the face paint. "You look amazing!" I told him, very impressed by the outfit and the effort that had gone into it. Jacob also looked awesome; he had obviously come as Two-Face, another Batman villain. "You too Jacob! I am impressed" I said.

"You know what we are?" Edward asked, eyebrows raised.

"Sure I do, Max used to read a lot of Batman magazines that my…well, that my dad passed onto him" I told them, muttering slightly towards the end.

"Are you alright?" Jacob asked me, a frown on his face.

"Um yeah, sure. So having a good night?" I asked, making sure that when I looked up I had a smile on my face. I saw the brief glance they exchanged before they thankfully took my lead and carried on as normal.

"Yeah it's great actually! Not been here too long, just been wandering around really. Fancy joining us for a bit?" Edward asked, glancing towards James. I joined him and James just smiled.

"Sure, go for it. You had better come back to me at some point though, as my date you definitely owe me a dance" he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes as I followed Edward through the crowds to see just what this dance was all about.

I have to admit, a good hour or so with Edward and Jacob had made me realise that I was actually enjoying myself. We laughed with each other at some of the sillier costumes people had come in and sat about eating, drinking and talking happily. As we sat there I saw somebody come specifically in our direction. I wondered who it was and only realised when they come up close who exactly it was.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Will exclaimed as he took a seat with us. He was dressed as a vampire; chalk white skin, blood coming down his chin and dressed entirely in black.

"Fancy dress, duh" I told him, nudging him with a smile on my face.

"Yeah, you and the girls look really good actually" he said, scanning the crowd quickly. "They've all been wondering about you" he informed me, turning to grin at me.

"Yeah, I may have accidently wandered off, actually not my fault this time" I told him, now looking out to scan the crowd myself.

"Hey, you guys look good!" Will told Edward and Jacob, who looked very pleased with the compliment.

"Thanks, you too" Edward replied politely, although there was a grin on his face.

"Are you having a good night then?" he asked us, leaning back in his seat.

"Surprisingly, yes" I replied. Will grinned at me like he knew what I meant.

"Yeah, the girls did say something about some sort of reluctance…" he trailed off, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Oh shush you. I'm having a good time now!" I told him, aiming a playful kick in his direction.

Now my night was getting even better, sat with Jacob, Will and Edward. I hadn't however seen the girls and I was starting to feel a bit guilty.

"I wonder if I should go and see if I can find the others" I said abruptly, more to myself than anything else. I stood up and took a look around, standing on my tiptoes to try and see more.

"Need a lift?" came a very familiar voice from behind me. I jumped slightly and turned to see James standing behind me.

"Very amusing" I replied, shaking my head.

"Do you mind if I steal her for a bit?" James asked the guys, who all shook their head and smiled.

"No, course not" Will said, and I sent a big smile his way.

"I'll come and find you later" I promised them as I allowed James to drag me away.

"Where are we going?" I asked as the crowd seemed to thicken.

"Well, I seem to recall you owing me a dance sooo…" he said, spinning me round very suddenly and he started jumping about like a madman.

"James!" I exclaimed, looking at the space he had managed to gain through his crazy actions.

"Come on, this is supposed to be fun!" he exclaimed, grabbing my hands and whirling me around. I couldn't help but laugh as I let him lead me, jumping, twirling, and general acting like absolute lunatics. I loved it.

It was a good while later when James allowed me to insist upon moving from the dance floor to get a drink. It had been great, and the people around us had soon joined in or left us well alone.

"See, that wasn't so bad" he said with a grin as he led me to the drinks area.

"I guess not" I admitted, smiling as he turned to look at me.

"Right stay exactly here and I'll be back in a moment with some drinks" he told me as he dashed off into another crowd. I stood there and watched other people around me as they laughed and had a good time.

"Um, ex…excuse me. Ally?" a horribly familiar voice said from behind me. I spun round extremely quickly to find myself face to face with Chloe Baker.

"Oh, er, hi" I said somewhat awkwardly, not quite knowing exactly what this was about.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your night I just, well, I just wanted to talk to you quickly if that's okay?" she asked. It was weird, she had dropped her silly high pitched voice and she seemed somewhat, sincere. I was a little freaked out in all honesty, especially after all the snide looks she had been given me as of late. It was at this time that James decided to come back and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me standing with Chloe.

"What do you want?" he growled, and I saw Chloe take a step back, obviously very uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to say something but I beat her to the punch.

"You couldn't give us a minute could you please?" I asked, turning to James. He looked at me very shocked, which very quickly turned into a frown.

"I won't be long. I'll meet you over by the drinks table in a bit" I continued, touching his arm lightly so he knew I was okay. The frown was still there but he nodded his head as he moved away.

"Thanks for that" Chloe said, and she sounded genuine. I gave her a weak smile, wondering what this was all about.

"I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry that I've been really horrible to you. I really didn't have a right to say the things I did, especially as I don't know you" she said very quickly, looking down at her shoes and seeming embarrassed. I was completely taken aback, I didn't think she would apologise!

"Oh, it's fine" I replied quickly, not quite knowing what else to say.

"It's not really. And I am sorry. And I hoped that maybe..." here she hesitated a little. "…maybe we could be friends? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable and I know you're knew and things so…yeah" she said at last, looking up at me with a slightly awkward smile. Wow. Friends? Coming from the person who had made me feel so uncomfortable. But then, she had said sorry. And she had obviously gone to a lot of effort and time thinking about what she wanted to say and things. I wasn't a person to hold grudges and I didn't want to come across like that.

"I'd, well I'd actually quite like that" I told her reassuringly, smiling. She beamed back at me.

"Great! Well, I guess I should leave you to enjoy your night. James is probably wondering where you got to and seeing as you're with me…Well…he's probably quite anxious" she laughed a little, her hands fidgeting a lot.

"Maybe. Well have a good rest of the night yourself" I told her with a smile.

"I'll see you round Ally" Chloe said in a happy voice and with one last smile she disappeared into the throng of people.

Wow, that was…bizarre. I shook my head as I made my way over to where James was sat. However, before I got there I found my path blocked by somebody. Looking up I saw Sirius standing there with a frown on his face.

"What did Baker want?" he demanded, arms crossed. I was a little taken aback by his stance and moved a step back.

"Oh. She just er wanted to talk to me about something" I told him hesitantly.

"Something?" he questioned, his frown becoming more pronounced.

"Yes. Something" I told him bluntly, unhappy with how he was talking to me. He didn't say anything else so I began to edge round him and quickly dashed off to James.

"What did Baker want?" he asked me as soon as I was in hearing distance. I took a seat next to him at the table he had managed to procure.

"Just something" I replied, slightly irritated.

"Something?" he queried.

"You sound just like Sirius" I told him frowning. Honestly, it was like I couldn't talk to anybody. James continued to frown at me.

"It was nothing. Honestly. Now come on. Let's go find the others" I said, standing again quite quickly. "Have you seen them anywhere?" I asked, scanning the crowd and changing the subject.

"I think they were at a table on the opposite side of the dance floor" he informed me, and a quick glance allowed me to see that he was still frowning.

"Well I'm going to go look for them. You coming?" I asked him, just to be polite. In truth, the questions about Chloe had made me feel a little unhappy. They too, like me had judged her too quickly and I didn't think it was totally fair. She had seemed very sincere when talking to me and had made a conscious effort to come over and apologise to me.

"I think I'll go find Remus and the others" he told me. I gave him a quick smile before I departed to hunt down the girls.

**Lizzy's POV**

I was sat at a table by myself as the others had just gone and left me to dance and I hadn't much felt like it. I wondered where Ally was and kept scanning the room in hope that I would soon find her.

"Ahoy there" came a voice from my left. Turning, I could see Ally standing next to me, big grin on her face.

"Oh, and where have you been all night?" I questioned, very happy to see her. She took a seat next to me and flashed me a grin.

"Just been with Will and Edward and Jacob and James and…" she trailed off and looked nervously down at her drink.

"And?" I asked her; curious as to why she looked so uncomfortable.

"If I tell you will you not say anything?" Ally asked quietly, shifting in her seat.

"Not if you don't want me to" I reassured her.

"Well. Um. I kind of spoke to Chloe" she said, looking up at me with golden eyes.

"Baker?" I asked, very surprised.

"Yeah. She wanted to talk to me and…well…she apologised to me" she said, hesitantly.

"Wow. Really?" I was very shocked by this.

"Yeah. She seemed really sincere and genuine as well. When she was apologising she looked really nervous and well, I think she was being honest" Ally said, getting into the flow of things, probably because I hadn't said anything mean.

"Well that was big of her" I admitted, although very curious about the whole thing.

"That's what I thought" Ally said, now smiling. I nodded and gave her a smile. However, I couldn't quite escape the feeling that something wasn't quite right.


	19. End of Term

**A/N: Another chapter up for you all! Hope you're still enjoying it **

**Sirius's POV**

October had quickly rolled into November and then, before we knew it, it was December.

"Nervous?" Prongs asked me from across the table at breakfast. I looked up to see him watching me closely.

"Course not. Don't be an idiot" I told him grinning, quickly beginning to get some food in me. Today was Gryffindors first Quidditch match of the season; against Slytherin. It was a cold, crisp day with dark snow clouds threatening the sky.

"I was going to say!" he exclaimed, looking down the table until his eyes stopped on somebody. I turned to see where he was looking and saw Evans sitting with De Piesto. I carried on further down the table until I saw a sight that I would never be comfortable with; Ally sitting with Baker. They were chatting animatedly about something and laughing quite a lot.

"It's just not right" I growled.

"Tell me about it" James said with a sigh. I looked away from Ally to see that James was still staring at Evans. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as a couple more people joined us.

"Come on Team. Eat up and then we need to get out there" came Alex's voice as him and Callum joined us. "Where are the others?" he questioned, scanning the table.

"You know what Fiona's like" James told him, grinning.

"Hmm I guess but what about Remus and…" he was cut off by the arrival of our Keeper, Erica.

"Oh good, I'm not the last one down" she said happily, pulling some toast towards her. In our team we were pretty good with nerves; only Remus seemed to have the problem.

"You know what he's like" I said, chuckling at Remus's trouble sleeping last night as he panicked about the game this morning. No sooner had I said the words then Moony appeared at the table and took a seat, looking slightly white.

"Alright Remus?" Alex asked, frowning. Remus just nodded his head and tried to put a smile on his face.

"Right, let's talk tactics"

**Ally's POV**

The last month or so had passed at an alarmingly fast rate and before I knew it, it was coming towards the end of my first term. So much had changed in that time. It was slightly scary, and put me on edge somewhat. Chloe and I had become really close. She was, although she didn't know it, the same age as me and that made me feel a bit more comfortable around her. It was a bizarre turn of events, seeing as I had always been under the impression that she had hated me. But alas, we spent quite a lot of time together. However, it did have its consequences. I still hung round with the girls a lot but they were very on their guard around Chloe which often left things feeling uncomfortable. The Marauders were totally against our friendship and didn't hesitate in airing their opinions, something that also made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn't sure how to handle things lately and I was hoping that the Christmas holiday would do us some good, give us a break from each other; I hoped that's all that was needed.

"Ally? Hello?" came Chloe's voice. She was sat staring at me, looking amused

"Sorry, zoned out briefly" I told her with a sheepish smile.

"Shall we start making our way down?" she asked, looking around as people had begun to leave their seats

"Ah I just need my coat. I'll go and grab it quickly and meet you in the Entrance Hall?" I asked her, beginning to leave my seat.

"Yeah sure. I'll meet you there in ten" she told me, finishing off her drink.

"Make it five" I told her with a grin, and watched as she looked confused. "You'll see" I finished, leaving my seat and making my way up the table.

"You going down now?" came a voice from my right. Turning I saw Lily and Luke (seemingly inseparable lately).

"Just going to grab my coat quickly. Meet you in the Entrance Hall in five?" I asked Lily, who nodded along with Luke. I carried on walking until I hit where the Gryffindor Team were sat.

"Good luck today guys" I told them, smiling round at them.

"Thanks Ally, you coming to watch the game yeah?" Alex asked, returning my smile.

"Sure thing wouldn't miss it for the world" I told him, which made him smile even more. I looked round briefly at them all, making fleeting eye contact with James and Sirius.

"See you later! You better beat the Slytherins!" I told them, as I began to move again.

"Ally, wait up" came James's voice from behind me. I stopped and turned to see him running to catch me up, a small smile on his face.

"We haven't really seen you much lately and I've missed having somebody to tease. So I was just wondering if maybe you would spend tomorrow with us? You know, seeing as we're going home the day after" he asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Of course I will silly. Stop looking so nervous, honestly" I told him, hitting him playfully.

"Oi shut up! Right I'd better go and win this match" he said cockily, giving me a brief hug before running back to his seat. I chuckled at his reaction as I sped through the door. As soon as I had made it to the bottom of the marble stair case I took a quick glance round. Most people seemed to be going in the opposite direction to me; going down to the Quidditch Pitch. I decided to walk normally for a bit up the staircase before I sped up.

I was less than five minutes, having surprised myself given the distractions I had encountered just trying to get out of the hall. I milled about in the Entrance Hall, deciding that I might as well just wait here rather than go and get the others.

"You look well wrapped up, I'm pleased to see" Luke said to me with a grin as he approached me with Lily.

"Yeah, I really dislike English winters" I told him, shaking my head as I looked out the door to the snow covered grounds.

"Here you are!" came a voice from behind us. Turning I saw Lizzy, Alice, Mandy and Susan, also completely layered up.

"Shall we make our way down then?" Lily questioned turning to make a move.

"Oh I err, told Chloe I would meet her here as well" I said, somewhat awkwardly. "You can go down if you like and I'll meet you down there" I carried on hurriedly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"No it's fine. We'll wait" Luke said at once, and I looked up at him to see that he had a smile on his face.

"Thanks" I told him, feeling a little relieved.

"Sorry I've been keeping you" came Chloe's voice as she hurried towards us.

"Hi guys" she said to the others, a little hesitantly and quietly.

"It's no problem. Right shall we go?" Luke said, looking round at us. I nodded as Chloe came to walk next to me. I was slightly surprised as Lizzy came to walk on my other side.

"Should be a good match huh?" she asked us, chucking me a quick smile. I mouthed a quick _thanks_ to her as Chloe replied.

"Yeah should be great! Especially as we all hate the Slytherins" she said happily as we trundled down to the pitch.

**Lizzy's POV**

Ally was one of my best friends and I wasn't about to let her get hurt. There was just something about Chloe that I didn't trust, and you know what they say; keep you friends close, but your enemies even closer. As long as Ally was friends with Chloe I wasn't about to go and leaver her.

The walk to the Quidditch Pitch was very quick; Ally had said that it was the only chance she had to be warm for the next couple of hours. I guess she had a point, as she really wasn't used to these cold winters. We made our way up to the Gryffindor stands (I had decided not to sit with my Hufflepuffs, purely for the atmosphere I knew would be in the Gryffindor stands) and sat with the other girls. It was very tense and the Gryffindors were already chanting away regardless of the fact that the teams hadn't come out yet.

It was a good five minutes later that the teams finally walked onto the pitch. After a brief handshake they took to the sky and the match began. I could see the ferocity behind the beaters attack on the bludgers as they aimed pretty well at the Gryffindor chasers. I could see James lapping the pitch, stopping occasionally to check on the score. Gryffindor were down fifty points; Slytherin had easily managed to hit 100 within the first twenty minutes. Remus and Callum had hit a few well placed bludgers which had at least stopped a few more Slytherin goals. However, you couldn't fault their supporters, even I was joining in with the chanting! Their spirits were still high and I was with them; Gryffindor could pull it back! And just as I thought that, the crowd roared as James put on a spurt of speed. I watched as he stretched his hand out, and then, out of nowhere the Slytherin seeker was there, and they were equal. I held my breath as they both stretched out their arms and then they both pulled up. I squinted to see their faces and I could eventually see James's face a light with happiness as he held out his hand for all to see the snitch. Relief flooded over me as I cheered and clapped hard along with three quarters of the school.

"Come on lets go down!" Alice said excitedly and we allowed ourselves to be pushed and shoved somewhat dangerously down the stairs.

There was already a massive crowd gathered round the players and I didn't think we would get anywhere near them.

"Let's just head up to your common room – the party will start soon" I said to the others who all agreed and we trudged our way through the snow towards the castle.

"So. Cold" came Ally's voice, teeth chattering. "I definitely can't wait to get back to France" she mumbled, obviously not very happy.

"France?" I questioned, frowning.

"Oh. Yeah. I live in France at the moment" she told me. I actually stopped walking.

"Seriously?" Chloe questioned from Ally's other side, also looking very surprised.

"Err, yeah. I might be in England for a bit of the holiday otherwise I'll probably be in France" she said, looking very uncomfortable.

"Oh. Right. You had better be back towards the end so I can see you" I told her, nudging her and carried on walking. Chloe still looked confused and was looking at Ally with a small frown on her face.

"Yeah I'll make sure I am. Sarah and Phil did promise me we would be back in England at some point" Ally said, looking a little bit more cheerful. Now that I thought about it, I never heard her refer to them as her parents. I tried thinking back to any conversation we had had but could not think of a single time when she had used the words "mum" or "dad". I was left confused and unsure what to make of it. However, I wasn't about to say anything unless Ally was ready to talk about whatever it was.

"So what's the temperature like in France for Christmas?" I asked her, intrigued.

"Not half as bad as this" she said with a chuckle, and she seemed to zone out for a minute. "It's a decent temperature. I obviously find it a bit colder than the others but other than that it's not too bad at all" she said with a grin. "Now come on, I'm getting cold!" she exclaimed, making us walk faster. I noticed how Chloe had kept quiet throughout this conversation and I looked over at her now. She seemed deep in thought. I was cut out of my thoughts by Ally moaning.

"Alright, alright we're coming!" I exclaimed, looking over at Chloe and smiling at her. She quickly arranged her face and smiled back at me – a seemingly very genuine one.

We made it up to the Gryffindor common room and Ally and Chloe both snuck me in. It was already pretty rammed and we quickly hurried upstairs where we said our goodbyes to Chloe as she left for the fourth year dormitory and me and Ally continued up to her dormitory.

"Looking forward to a bit of party action?" I asked her as we shrugged out of our coats, scarves, hats and gloves.

"Yeah, I guess so" Ally said, seemingly indifferent.

"What's up?" I asked her frowning. She didn't seem quite herself.

"Nothing I'm fine. Right, shall we go downstairs?" she asked. "We'll have to be quick though. I think it's a full on all houses kind of party" Ally told me, trying to change the subject rapidly.

"I'll blend in nicely then I guess" I replied with a smile.

"Oh, I thought I would find you two up here" Alice came in, throwing her coat onto her bed.

"Yeah, we lost you in the crowds so figured we would find you up here somewhere" I told her as I flopped down onto Ally's bed.

"Don't get comfortable! Come on let's get going! Party!" Alice said excitedly, chucking her pillow at me.

"I'm pretty much alright here" I replied, a grin on my face.

"Come on you two! Pleeaaseee!" Alice said, a certain whiney quality to her voice coming through. Ally laughed and looked over at me.

"Fine. I guess I can deal with moving for a party" I told her as I slowly began to move. Alice just stared at me, looking unimpressed by my slow movements. I laughed and she huffed.

"Alright, I'm coming I'm coming!" I exclaimed moving properly now and heading for the door.

"Come on Ally" Alice said, shoving me out of the door and pushing Ally after me.

Downstairs was getting packed now and we edged our way around the room, keeping an eye out for the others. We eventually managed to find Fiona.

"Well done!" I yelled at her, over the sound of the music and enveloping her in a hug.

"Yeah, well done Fi!" Ally and Alice both said at the same time, making each other laugh, as they both went to hug Fiona too.

"Thanks guys" Fiona said, obviously very happy and hyper.

"James is looking for you Ally! He's just over there!" she said excitedly bouncing up and down. Ally laughed as she looked where Fiona was pointing.

"Thanks, I'd better go see him then" she told us as she disappeared through the crowd.

**James's POV**

It had been a great game. We had been close to losing and panic had flared into me. I had to push it out and concentrate on my one task; the one task that, if completed would mean that Gryffindor could still win. The feeling of victory was awesome, and now we had a good party to look forward to. I had seen Chloe scanning the room and was eager to get to Ally first.

"I hear you've been looking for me?" came her voice from behind me. I turned to see her standing there smiling at me.

"Congratulations. You played amazingly" she told me, giving me a big hug.

"Yeah, I know, I'm pretty good like that" I replied, and she pulled away to frown at me.

"What? You did just call me amazing" I said, grinning at her. She shook her head and folded her arms.

"Any particular reason you were looking for me?" she asked, changing subject. I shoved my hands in my pockets as I glanced round the room.

"I just wanted to hear you congratulate me to be honest. But now that you're here we might as well grab a drink" I told her, watching as she couldn't help but smile.

"Well you'd best hurry along and get me one then hadn't you" she told me cheekily. I laughed and yet, I found myself wandering off to get her a drink.

**Sirius's POV**

I watched as Ally and James stood talking together, obviously having a good time.

"You could always go over there you know" came Moony's voice from beside me. I huffed as I turned by attention back to him but somebody else caught my eye first.

"I'll be right back" I told him, my voice coming out in a growl. "Can you do me a favour? Go and distract Ally for a bit" I asked him. He frowned at me but said nothing as I made a beeline for somebody in particular; Baker.

**Ally's POV**

As I stood there waiting I watched people around me enjoy themselves, especially the Quidditch Team; Alex and Callum had found themselves surrounded by girls and by the looks of things, they very much enjoyed that.

"It's been a while". I turned to see Remus standing just to the left of me. I smiled widely at him

"Hi Remus. How are you?" I asked, watching him smile back at me. "Well done today by the way" I said suddenly, hugging him.

"Thanks. And I'm good how are you? You enjoying yourself?" he asked, motioning round the room at the party.

"Yeah it's not been too bad actually. How about you?" I replied. He shrugged his shoulders, not seeming too bothered by it all.

"It's alright. Don't really like to be in the limelight too much unlike James and Sirius" he said with a chuckle. Looking round the room I now saw James surrounded by a group of girls and, like Alex and Callum, he didn't seem too mind too much. However, I did see him keep looking at somebody and following his gaze I found Lily laughing at something Luke had obviously just said to her.

"He just can't help himself" Remus commented, obviously aware of what I had been looking at.

"How long has he liked her?" I asked him, having only heard the story from Lily herself.

"Liked her? I think it went beyond like in about fourth year" he told me with a chuckle, shaking his head.

"Really?" I replied. I mean, I knew he really liked her but I didn't know that he _loved_ her.

"Really. I have to hand it to him; he truly is persistent" Remus told me with a laugh. I looked over at James and felt a bit sorry for him. Watching Lily with Luke must be hurting him a lot and yet, he never really let on. I was always surprised why Lily didn't like him. He was extremely hot, and a genuine nice guy. Although, I guess if he had been pestering Lily throughout all her school years, it must now just be habit to dislike him.

"Poor James" I muttered.

"Don't let him hear you say that" Remus replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice. I turned my attention back to him as I figured James would be a while with my drink.

"You looking forward to going home then?" he asked me. I sighed. I was and I wasn't. Christmas was always a bit hard for me and I was already feeling a little bit on edge with this topic of conversation due to the chat I had had earlier with Chloe and Lizzy.

"Yeah. Should be good. Will be nice to see everybody again" I told him, not going into much detail. "How about you?" I asked him in return, turning the attention away from myself. He shrugged, not seeming to enjoy the question much himself,

"Yeah, like you said, will be nice to see the family again" he murmured. I guess I wasn't the only person keeping secrets at the moment then.

"Oh there you are! I wondered where you had got to" came Chloe's voice. I turned to see her and was very surprised to see Sirius following close behind.

"Oh yeah, sorry" I replied, still somewhat confused. I chanced a quick glance at Remus who was frowning at Sirius.

"Alright Ally?" Sirius asked me. I looked at him to see him looking right at me, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah. Thanks. Well done by the way" I told him. Sirius sent me a crooked smile in return which made me blush a little.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the performance" he said laughing. I hoped he wasn't laughing at my reaction to his smile. Oh he was wasn't he? Oh no. That's just highly embarrassing.

"Yeah, it was really good" Chloe chipped in, and I watched as Sirius's eyes narrowed. "You all played brilliantly" she continued, sounding enthusiastic.

"Yeah she's right, you really did" I nodded along my agreement. I caught Sirius rolling his eyes out the corner of my eye and a sudden feeling of anger flared up in me. Chloe was being nice and Sirius wasn't exactly being very nice back to her. I didn't think it was very fair; she was clearly making an effort. There was a slight uncomfortable silence in which Sirius and Remus both openly stared at me, only making me a little angrier.

"I had to fight my way through those girls" James's cocky voice came, breaking through the barrier of silence. "Woah. Who's annoyed you?" he exclaimed, turning and looking surprised at me. I shook my head and looked away.

"Nobody. I'm going to go find the girls. You coming Chloe?" I asked her as I began to walk away.

"What did you say to her?" I heard James exclaim as soon as he thought we were out of hearing distance.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked me, frowning. I shrugged. "Let's go sit down" she suggested and led me over to some seats. "I reckon you just need a girlie chatter and most definitely a drink" she told me with a cheeky smile. I couldn't help but smile back as she dashed off to get us some drinks. Hopefully tonight wouldn't be all bad.

**Fiona's POV**

"Ally?" I called cautiously. I was worried. It was nine o'clock and Ally still hadn't woken up. "Ally?" I called again, poking her this time.

"This is weirding me out" Alice said, and Fiona and Lizzy nodded along too. Lizzy had spent the night in our dorm; I think she prefers ours to her own to be honest. A faint groan brought me back to reality as I saw Ally stir.

"What time is it?" she moaned as she sat up, hand to her head.

"Nine" Lily told her from across the room. Ally groaned again as she pushed the duvet off.

"Nine? Seriously? Oh I really don't feel so well" she said, sitting very still.

"Did you _drink_ last night?" Lily asked suddenly, moving towards Ally with a dangerous look on her face. Ally frowned,

"You know I don't drink" she told Lily, looking confused.

"You, my sweet Ally, most definitely have a hangover" Lizzy piped up grinning.

"I _think_ I may have had a fire whisky. Only one shot though" Ally mumbled, as she tried getting up.

"You think?" came Lily again. Jeez, talk about getting a bit angry for nothing big!

"Yeah. I don't know. I can't really remember" she told us, looking up at us.

"You didn't seem bad. Just a bit happy but I didn't really question it" Alice told her shrugging. I nodded along with her.

"You up to breakfast?" I asked her with a grin. She groaned again but made a move to the bathroom.

"Give me five" she said, closing the door very quietly behind her. I heard the taps go and turned to face the others.

"Chloe" we all said at once, frowning.

Ally was very quiet walking down to breakfast, a constant frown on her face. I caught Lizzy's eye and nodded to Ally. Catching my drift she slowed down to walk next to her with me.

"Feeling rough?" I asked her with a grin. She nodded her head.

"This really isn't fun" she told us, very unimpressed.

"Did you have a good night though?" Lizzy asked her, pressing her for a few more details.

"Yeah, I really did. Chloe and I had a chat about…well I can't really remember but I know I was having a good time" she said with a smile. I glanced at Lizzy who had the same expression as me; not amused. "Breakfast doesn't smell as great as usual" Ally continued, for we had reached the Great Hall by this point.

"Hey, why don't we eat at the Hufflepuff table today? Edward and Jacob look like they want to talk to you" I replied, thinking this was a very smooth way of avoiding Chloe who had been watching us walk in.

"Sure" Ally replied a happy tone in her voice as she waved at the two boys.

"Morning" came Jacobs's voice, frowning as he looked at Ally.

"Eurgh" she replied, flopping down in the seat opposite him. She looked cautiously at the food before pulling a piece of toast towards her. I saw Edward and Jacob exchange a worried glance and I frowned, wondering what was wrong.

Ally only managed one piece of toast and wasn't looking so healthy.

"Morning everybody" James called out in greeting as the Marauders walked over to us. He looked exceptionally happy. "Morning Evans" he said to Lily, causing her to frown and growl. Honestly. Her and Luke were official now. He was not going to earn himself any brownie points being like that. "Come on Ally, long day ahead of us" he said, looking over and smiling at her.

"Does it involve going outside?" she asked, mumbling. James frowned and looked confused,

"Well of course it does!" he exclaimed. "Now come on, let's go!" Ally groaned as she moved from the table.

"I need to go get my stuff first" she told him, trying to smile. I laughed at her weak efforts and she frowned at me.

"Not my fault you're feeling like that" I told her, watching as her frown deepened. She muttered something that I couldn't hear before turning and making her way out the Great Hall. James looked confused, as did the other guys but I just laughed.

"Go find out for yourselves" I told them, watching as they exchanged glances and followed Ally out of the hall.

"I'm going to go back up the dormitory, think I might start packing" Lily said, and Alice nodded along with her,

"Yeah think I'll join you. It was probably take me forever to find all of my stuff" she said, not looking happy with the thought at all.

"I'll catch you up in a minute" I told them as they looked expectantly down at me. They nodded and began to make their way out of the hall which left me, Lizzy, Edward and Jacob.

"Right, spill. What happened last night?" I turned quickly to the two boys.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, trying to hide the frown on his face.

"You looked concerned when Ally came down for breakfast this morning. Did something happen last night?" Lizzy asked them, using a much softer approach than I did. Jacob sighed and nodded at Edward.

"She seemed really upset last night. I bumped into her at the bottom of the dormitory stairs and she looked like she had been crying. I was asking her if she was alright and she seemed on the verge of telling me before some girl appeared, Chloe I think her name is. She told me that Ally was fine and whisked her away before I could say anything else. I'm just a bit worried about her is all" he rounded off, looking concerned. Lizzy and I exchanged worried glances, wondering what on earth Chloe had said to her to make her so upset. One thing was for certain; I was going to find out.

**Ally's POV**

I couldn't believe me first term was already over. I sat in contemplative silence as I watched as the greenery eventually began to give way to the grey city tones.

"So, have you enjoyed your first term?" I zoned back into the room to see Lily looking at me, smiling.

"It's been amazing. I've enjoyed it all" I told her, returning her smile.

"What, even the numerous accidents you've had?" she said with a grin.

"Oh don't. I can guarantee I'm going to get a lecture when I get home" I said with a slight moan, having temporarily forgotten my broken knuckle and tumble on the rug. "I can't believe that all happened in my first week!" I continued, thinking back to the occasions. Lily laughed at me, as she watched me grimace. I had indeed had a very eventful first term, and was looking forward to see what next term would bring.

"So will you be in France for the whole of Christmas?" Fiona asked, joining our conversation.

"I don't think so. But I really don't know. I'll just have to wait and see I guess" I told her with a shrug.

"But you promise to write?" Lizzy asked me.

"Of course I will" I told her, laughing as she looked genuinely concerned.

"This term has gone so quickly" Alice said, as she too sighed and gazed out of the window.

"We still have a whole other year and two terms to look forward to!" Susan said happily, bouncing up and down in her seat; she was very hyper after consuming a lot of sugar.

"Suze, what are your parents going to do when they see you like this?" Mandy exclaimed. Susan shrugged, this question doing nothing to calm her down.

"Probably sigh. They're pretty much used to this" she said laughing; a little more hysterically than was needed. We all laughed at her, which only made her laugh even more. I looked round at the girls and felt a sudden rush of happiness. It had been such a good term here and I had so much to tell everybody, I'm sure they would be very pleased to know that I had actually been able to make some friends; some very good ones at that.

Eventually the train began to slow down and we all began to stand up and try and gather all of our stuff.

"Oh, where did I put my coat?" Alice grumbled. I laughed; Alice was always losing her stuff.

"Behind you, you doughnut!" Lily laughed, throwing her coat at her. "Now come on, let's go" she continued, beginning to shoo us out of the train and onto the platform. A rush of cold air hit me and I shivered, still not used to this English winter weather. I looked round the platform, eagerly trying to find Phil and Sarah. After a minute or so more, I eventually located them. I turned to the girls.

"Well guys. I guess I'll see you in a few weeks" I said, gaining all of their attention. They all moved forward at once to hug me and we ended up having a huge group hug, which made us laugh.

"You had better write to us all!" Lizzy told me once again, punching my arm lightly.

"Maybe, I'll see how I feel" I told her, jokingly, which made her punch me again.

"Have a great Christmas" I said to them, as I picked up my stuff and made my way over to where Phil and Sarah were. What I had neglected to notice was that Max and Sienna were also there; the whole family come to meet me. It was Max who noticed me first and he grinned as he jogged over to envelope me in a huge bear hug.

"I've missed you!" he told me, as he finally put me down. "Here I'll grab your stuff, you go see the rest of them; they've been very anxious to see you" he continued, grinning even wider at me. I couldn't help but smile broadly back as I rushed over to see the rest of them.

"Oh Ally darling, it's so lovely to see you" Sarah told me as she got in there first with a hug. I hugged her tightly back, so pleased to see them all again.

"Ally!" Sienna squealed, hugging me very tightly.

"Jeez Si, let me breath!" I told her, and she finally let me go.

"Ah, Nathalie" Phil said, as I turned to him and gave him a great big hug.

"You look so happy" Sarah told me, the happiness radiating through in her voice.

"So happy you're actually even glowing" Max said as he reached us with my stuff. I shoved him playfully and he shoved me back, a little harder than I had done, which made me wobble a bit. This only made him laugh at me, making me shake my head.

"Where's Luca?" Phil asked, glancing round the station.

"Oh I don't know. I wasn't with him on the train" I told them, as I too looked round the station.

"Ally!" somebody yelled through the steam. Turning my head I saw James jogging over. "Were you actually going to go without saying goodbye to me?" he asked, looking a little disappointed.

"Of course not. I was always planning on coming to find you" I told him with a smile, making him smile in return.

"Sarah, Phil, Max, Si, this is James" I introduced him to my family. They all smiled at him and I could see Si raise her eyebrows in apparent approval.

"Great to meet you mate" Max said, moving forward to shake his hand.

"Yeah you too. Ally talks about you a lot" he said with a grin. They all laughed at his comment and I just rolled my eyes.

"Well I'd better go; mum and dad are waiting for me. Have a good Christmas!" he told me happily, giving me a hug.

"You too James" I said, waving as he disappeared quickly through the steam.

"James, aye?" Si said, moving closer to me with a grin on her face.

"Friend, Si. Honestly" I replied, shaking my head at her.

"Ah there he is" Phil said suddenly, waving at somebody. I watched as Luke approached us, smiling. Max moved forward to hug him quickly, giving him a hand with his stuff.

"Hello all" he said happily, hugging them all in greeting. "You could have waited for me you know" he said turning to me.

"I didn't know where you were!" I told him, wondering why I was supposed to have waited for him.

"Well I was always going to come and find Lils wasn't I" he said with a grin, winking at Max. "Anyway. I guess I should I have told you I was coming with you. Mum and dad are both working so figured I'd tag along" he continued. Ah, that explained why I was supposed to wait for him.

"Well then, what are we waiting for" I said happily. Max picked up my stuff and we made our way over to the barrier. As we were about to go through I cast one last look towards the platform and smiled. I couldn't wait to come back.


	20. Reunions and Surprises

**A/N: Another chapter for you - it's quite long! I hope you're still all enjoying the story**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not, unfortunately, belong to me**

**Ally's POV**

Eurgh. Back in cold, snowy England. I groaned a little as we hurriedly made our way up the garden path into the house. I was glad to be back in the warmth again and was grateful for the fire that immediately sprung to life, thanks to Phil.

"How do you cope with this?" Sienna asked me, grumbling. I shrugged,

"Not very well" I replied, laughing a little as she frowned at the amount of snow coming off of her coat.

"Right you three, you had best go and unpack. We have the boys coming over later and I don't want clothes everywhere" Sarah told us, looking specifically at Sienna at the last bit. Sienna rolled her eyes as she grabbed her suitcase and began banging it loudly up the stairs.

"Pick it up Sienna" Phil shouted at her from the kitchen. I could hear her muttering away in French to herself and couldn't help but laugh. I was in high spirits now that I was back in England (despite the cold weather);

"Ally love" Sarah called from the front room. I left the hallway and was greeted with a blast of hot air from the fire. "We were thinking that maybe you would like to have your friends over tomorrow? They're more than welcome to stay the night and I'm sure you've missed them a lot" she told me with a smile. My heart leapt and I beamed at her.

"Really? That would be so cool! Thank you!" I said as I got up to give her a big hug.

"You're welcome. Now you had better go and unpack and I guess you have a few letters to send" Sarah said, shooing me out of the room. I skipped out of the front room and happily took my case upstairs. On entering my bedroom I quickly put my case down and hurried over to my desk. There was already some parchment and some ink on the side and set to work.

_Lizzy,_

_Guess who's back in snowy, cold (freezing cold for that matter) England? Yours truly! Anyway Sarah said that I could invite you all over tomorrow for a sleep over! You up for it? Get back to me soon! _

_Missing you lots_

_Ally_

"MAX!" I yelled, as I quickly put my quill down.

"What do you want?" he asked, appearing at my door a couple of seconds later.

"Can you copy this letter five times for me please?" I asked him. He sighed as he came over to my desk, pulling out his wand and saying a quick spell which left me with six identical letters.

"Oh and can you quickly just get rid of the "Lizzy" part on the other five?" I asked, smiling sweetly up at him. He grumbled but did it for me nonetheless.

"Hey, where's Hercules?" he asked me, looking round my room. Oh no. I quickly dashed out of my room and down to the Hall where my brand new owl sat, looking reproachfully up at me.

"Oh I'm sorry boy" I told him, giving him a quick stroke through the bars before picking him up and bringing him back upstairs. I quickly let him out and he flew to my window where he sat looking a bit happier.

"Nice of you to forget about him" Max grinned at me, still in my room.

"I didn't forget I just…wanted him to see the house?" I replied. Max laughed at me as he went back to his own room.

"Thanks for the letters by the way" I called after him.

"No problem" he replied, and I heard him shut his door behind him.

"Reckon you're up for some letter delivery?" I asked Hercules He hooted at me and fluffed up his feathers importantly.

"Thanks Hercules. They're for Fiona, Lizzy, Alice, Lily, Susan and Mandy" I told him, as I attached the letters to his leg. He stood very still while I did so and I gave him a quick stroke before opening the window and watching him as he departed.

"How's the unpacking going kids?" Sarah called up the stairs. I jumped as I quickly hurried up and began throwing things out of my suitcase. I couldn't wait for tomorrow!

I had had such a nice day yesterday. Will, Callum and Dale had come over and I was so happy to see them. They laughed at my stories from Hogwarts before they treated me to a lesson in punching. Sarah did not look at all impressed, and Phil looked somewhat amused. Max laughed hysterically at my attempts but he stopped laughing when I sent a well placed punch in his direction. This earned me a telling off from Sarah but it was worth it.

Today I was up bright and early, having received replies from the girls saying that they were all coming and looking forward to it. I was very excited as I hadn't seen them in a few weeks and was looking forward to catching up with them all. Max and Sienna had already gone out for the day which left me with Sarah and Phil. However, Phil was working in the office so it was just me and Sarah really.

"Cake time?" Sarah asked me as I wandered into the kitchen.

"Definitely!" I said happily; as I began pulling open the cupboards to get all the ingredients.

A couple of hours later me and Sarah stood back to admire our handiwork. We may have got a bit carried away with the cakes and had made; a Victoria Sponge, a chocolate sandwich cake, orange and walnut, and a multitude of cupcakes.

"Well at least we know we'll definitely have enough" I said, with a chuckle. While we were at it, we had also made a few homemade pizzas for when the girls arrived. "This is going to be so good" I said happily, looking round the kitchen. Sarah looked at me with a big smile on her face.

"It's so lovely to see you so happy" she told me. I guess it had been a while since I'd been this happy and I knew I was making her happy in return. "You had better go and get changed out of those clothes. Your friends will be here soon" Sarah said, looking at my floury state. I laughed as I raced out of the kitchen and up to my bedroom, making sure everything was neat and tidy before I quickly got changed. I double checked my room again before heading back downstairs, ready to wait for the girls to arrive. Phil had temporarily lowered the wards around the fire so that the girls could floo in, but I could tell that this made him nervous. Being in England generally put the whole family on edge, given what was going on here. He was still sat in the office but had the door open, so that he could hear everything. I had literally just moved from the front room into the kitchen to get a drink when I heard the unmistakable sound of somebody arriving. I ran into the front room to see Fiona stumble out of the fire.

"Fiona!" I exclaimed, moving to hug her.

"Woah. I really have forgotten about how fast you can be" she said, hugging me back tightly. I laughed as I pulled away and beckoned her into the room. "Wow. Nice house" she told me, looking round in approval.

"Thanks. Come on through to the kitchen. Do you want a drink?" I asked her as I put her stuff to the side and lead her through to the kitchen.

"Yeah sure I'd love…wow. This is huge!" she exclaimed, leaving behind her other train of though. I laughed as I moved over to the glass cupboard. "Squash will be great" she told me as she saw what I was doing. As I gave her, her drink, Sarah came into the kitchen.

"Oh Fiona, this is Sarah" I introduced and Sarah smiled widely at her.

"It's so lovely to meet you Fiona. Ally has told us all about you" she said in greeting as she went to the kettle.

"It's very nice to meet you too" Fiona replied as she watched Sarah curiously as she filled the kettle with water before turning it on.

"It's a mainly muggle house, apart from the odd bit of magic" I told Fiona, filling her in.

"What's that?" she asked me, pointing at the kettle.

"It's a kettle. You use it to boil water" I informed her, watching as she frowned. "It's slower than magic but we've just gotten used to it" I continued, as she shook her head.

"Weird" she muttered, as she took in the rest of the room. "Oh wow. Did you make enough cakes?" she asked, her eyes widening as she took in the vast selection we had. Sarah laughed,

"We went a bit over board didn't we darling?" she said, and I laughed as well.

"Just a bit! Help yourself Fi" I told her, and that's all she needed to dive into one of the fairy cakes.

"Right, I had best get this to Phil, he's already anxious enough" Sarah told us, before disappearing with a tea and a slice of cake. Fiona looked at me questioningly.

"They get a bit nervous when we come to England, you know, with what's happening over here". Fiona nodded but before she could say anything we heard the fire go and raced back into the front room. Naturally, I got there first to see Lizzy appear in the fireplace.

"Oh hi guys" she said happily, as we both engulfed her in a hug.

"It's been too long!" I told her, very happy to see her again.

"Well that's because somebody disappeared to France" Lizzy said, nudging me.

"Do you want to put your stuff in my room?" I asked the two of them, watching as they nodded eagerly as I showed them the way.

"You have an amazing house" Lizzy remarked as we made our way up the stairs.

"Yeah, it just keeps getting better! Wait 'til you see the kitchen" Fiona said to Lizzy. At the top of the stairs I took a left and showed them to my room.

"It's really big!" Lizzy exclaimed as she walked in. It was pretty big, but then all the rooms were so I had never really thought about it much. In true Lizzy fashion, she went straight over to my bed and jumped on it.

"You're so lucky having a double bed" Fiona told me, joining Lizzy.

"Oh hi Hercules" Lizzy said, spying my owl and moving over to stroke him.

"Come on, we'd better get back downstairs and wait for the others" I said to the other two, leading them out of the room and heading back downstairs.

"Do you want a drink Lizzy?" I asked her. She shook her head,

"No, I'm okay for the moment thanks" she said as she plopped down onto one of the sofas.

"It's so cosy in here" Fiona said, as she took a seat in the armchair and gazed at the fire. I had barely taken a seat when the fire went green again and Lily appeared, closely followed by Alice. I jumped up, so excited to see them.

"Hello you" Lily greeted me, giving me a huge hug.

"It's so good to see you again" she said to me, smiling.

"And you" I told her happily, moving to say hello to Alice. It felt so good to be around the girls again and I was very happy. No sooner had I thought that then Susan and Mandy had appeared, completing the group. It all got a bit hectic as we got excited and went round hugging everybody in greeting.

"I'll be right back" I said to them disappearing quickly to the office. I bumped into Sarah on my way in,

"Sounds like a lot of excited teenage girls" she said, with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that" I told her, smiling a bit awkwardly at her. She laughed at me,

"Don't apologise. It's nice to have the house full of people" she said to me and I nodded my head in agreement. Being back in England just reminded me of my parents and it was nice to have to house full of life to take my mind off of things.

"Everybody's here now" I told Phil and he got up instantly and followed me out of the room.

"Guys" I all but shouted at the girls, all of whom were getting very excited. They all spun round and quietened down at once.

"Phil these are my friends. Fiona, Alice, Lizzy, Susan, Mandy and Lily" I introduced him, pointing them all out. They all smiled and said 'hi' back and he smiled back at them.

"Ah, it is so lovely to meet you all. Ally speaks about you all the time" he told them, moving to the fire and muttering some incantations with a lot of complicated wand movements.

"All here now then?" Sarah asked from the doorway. I nodded my head,

"This is Sarah. Sarah this is Fiona, Alice, Lizzy, Susan, Mandy and Lily" I introduced, pointing them all out as I had done with Phil.

"It's so lovely to put faces to names at last" Sarah told them. "Right girls we'll leave you to it. Show them round Ally and help yourself to anything you want, okay?"

"Thank you" they all said at once, which made them laugh. Sarah just shook her head as her and Phil disappeared.

"You have such a nice house" Lily said as she curled up in one of the other armchairs. All the others followed her lead as we all sat down on the sofas.

"Wait 'til you see the rest of it" Lizzy said, and Fiona nodded her head in agreement.

"So how is everybody? Have I missed anything?" I asked them, looking round at them all. They shook their heads,

"Not much really. Oh, although I do have a funny story" Fiona said, her eyes lighting up.

"Go on then!" Mandy said, looking intrigued.

"Well. Uncle Matthew was telling me about the goings on of Christmas day at the Potter household" she started with a grin. I saw Lily roll her eyes and try to look disinterested but I could tell she was still listening. "James and Sirius thought it would be a great idea to start the ball rolling for Christmas early…4am early" she continued. I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined James's excitement over Christmas. "So, they went round and set alarm o'clocks all round the house, from quarter to four to quarter past four, one going off every minute. They thought it was a great plan so they set it all up and went to bed dead pleased with themselves. Only thing is, Matthew got up in the middle of the night and stumbled across many alarm clocks. Figuring out what was going on; he moved them all into James and Sirius's room and put a silencing charm around the door. Well, James and Sirius got a nice shock when the alarms started going off all round their rooms" she finished. We were all laughing at this point, even Lily. "Matthew is just as good as them when it comes to pranks. They have competitions all the time at home" Fiona told us.

"Sounds like a lot of fun" Susan said.

"Yeah, Christmas is always a great laugh" Fiona replied, seemingly zoning out for a few minutes.

"Ooo very random but on the topic of Christmas and good times and things, do you reckon Callum will have his usual New Years Party?" Alice asked, sitting up a little bit and looking round the room. I didn't have a clue what she was on about but the others seemed to know.

"Well, Alex told me that he was planning on having one but I haven't heard anything since then on the subject" Lizzy told us.

"Oh, Alex told you, did he?" Mandy asked, smirking at Lizzy.

"Yes he did" Lizzy said, seemingly closed up about the subject.

"Hopefully he does, he always throws a good party. And it is his last year so that makes it more likely" Fiona said quickly, moving the attention away from the subject of Lizzy and Alex. I frowned at her, wondering what was wrong; they had seemed pretty close last term, what had changed?

"Well if he does we should be hearing about it very soon" Alice said. It was obviously a big deal and seemed like a lot of people would be going. I wondered if I would get invited…

"So what's the plan for tonight then?" Lily asked me, looking eager.

"Lot's of food, naturally and I thought maybe films?" I asked them. Lily, Lizzy and Mandy all nodded along, in agreement with my plan.

"Films?" Fiona asked and I looked to see her, Alice and Susan all looking confused. I had completely forgotten that they were all pure-bloods and so didn't know any muggle ways.

"It's like a whole series of talking pictures which tell a story that you can watch" Lily said slowly, trying to explain it. They all stared at Lily who shrugged.

"You will just have to wait and see!" she said happily. I laughed I saw Fiona looking slightly wary and she frowned at me.

"I'm sure you'll like it" I told her, smiling. "Anyway, who's hungry?"

We had had a good evening surrounding food, films and general silliness. Alice, Susan and Fiona had all been amazed by the idea of a film and sat in wonder as the pictures flicked across the screen. We were just settling down with some more food when we heard the door go. All of the girls turned their head as Sienna, Max and Luke appeared. Lily looked very happy by the arrival of the latter and smiled widely as he came into the room.

"Hi guys" Luke greeted, moving forward to hug Lily and give her a quick peck on the cheek. The girls all happily said hello to him and turned their attention to Max and Sienna.

"Guys, this is Max and Sienna. And these are my friends; Lizzy, Alice, Fiona, Susan, Lily and Mandy" I introduced. Max sent a very traditional "charming" smile, which made the girls blush. Sienna waved happily and took a seat next to me on the sofa.

"Good day?" I asked them and Sienna nodded happily although she sent a slight scowl at the boys.

"Apart from them dragging me outside in the snow with them", she sounded unhappy by this and I laughed. Max moved into the room and took a seat before Sarah appeared.

"Nice of you to say hello" she said to the three of them, although she was smiling.

"We were just about to come and find you" Max said, standing and hugging her. The girls all looked at him with odd, happy expression; one I had seen many times before.

"Are you staying Luca?" Sarah asked Luke who looked pretty comfy sitting very close to Lily.

"If that's okay?" he asked and Sarah nodded.

"Of course it is, you know you don't need to ask" she told him.

"I know but it's more polite if I ask" he said with a chuckle. Sarah laughed at him before turning to the rest of us.

"Just chuck them out when they get annoying" she said, smiling at Max who was frowning at her. "Ally never crashes your parties so leave her to it!" she exclaimed, watching him roll his eyes.

"I know I know, I was just being polite" Max said, holding his hands up in what he thought was an innocent way. I heard Lizzy laugh very quietly next to me and turned to glance at her. She seemed determined not to make eye contact with me though.

"Have you girls had enough to eat?" Sarah asked them.

"Oh yes, thank you so much for all the food. It was delicious" Fiona said approvingly as the others all said their thanks at once. Sarah smiled and moved out of the room, not before giving Max a look.

"Come on Luke, let's leave them to it" he said, getting up with a sigh. I sent him a quick smile and he returned it. Luke didn't seem as happy to get up as Max but did so nonetheless, not before kissing Lily though. She blushed a little but looked very pleased.

"I guess I'll move as well" Sienna said as the two boys left the room.

"Don't be silly" I told her, sending her a smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked, half way out of her seat.

"Of course" Lizzy said, beating me to it. Sienna looked pretty pleased and settled herself down comfortably.

"Right I'll go grab us some drinks. Fi, Lizzy will you give me a hand?" I asked them as I made a move to the kitchen. They both got up straight away and followed me out.

"Has something happened with you and Alex?" Fiona asked Lizzy as soon as we were in the kitchen. She was definitely following my line of thought and I watched Lizzy closely. She shrugged and leaned against the work top.

"I duno. I thought things were going well and I kind of liked him and then after the Quidditch game I went to talk to him but he wasn't really with it and went off with Callum. Then, the next time I see him he's surrounded by girls looking pretty happy" she said quietly, not making eye contact with either of us.

"Well that's lame" I said abruptly, realising that was probably not the most helpful thing to say. However Lizzy looked up and smiled at me.

"Yeah, just a bit" she said. Fiona went and gave her a hug.

"You're too good for him anyway" she told Lizzy who smiled but shrugged once again.

"We'd best get these drinks into the others" Lizzy said, obviously not wanting to dwell on the topic. I quickly went along with it and started pulling out some glasses while I pointed the others in the direction of trays and squash and other such drinks.

"Voila" I said with a flourish as we returned laden with drinks and a few other snacks to keep us going through the night.

It soon reached one and we were all feeling pretty sleepy due to the amount of food we had eaten.

"I think I'm going to call it a night" Sienna announced as she got up, yawning and stretching. "I'll see you lot in the morning. Night" she said with a smile before she departed.

"Shall we go and sort ourselves out then?" I asked the girls, looking round the room to see most of them looking very sleepy on the sofas. They all nodded and began to slowly get up and make their way up to my bedroom.

"Where are we all sleeping?" Lizzy asked me as she ambled upstairs last.

"Well, I was going to say that we could all sleep in my room if you wanted or, we do have a spare bedroom that a few of us could crash in with a double bed" I suggested quietly to the girls as I reached the bedroom.

"Let's all stay in here; it will be more fun then!" Susan said happily as she began pulling her pyjamas out of her bag. The others happily agreed and I quickly popped to the spare bedroom to get some more bedding.

When I returned the girls were in various states of dress with a couple of them arguing over the bathroom.

"Guys, we have two" I told them, and they all turned to look at me.

"Really?" Mandy asked, looking impressed. I nodded offhandedly, and walked into the corridor to point them out. Fiona and Lizzy dashed off first and the others giggled. I started laying down some duvets and Lily helped me out by multiplying them so that the girls would be comfy.

"How's thing with Luke?" I asked her as we sorted stuff out. She blushed a little and a looked a little uncomfortable but then I guess he was sort of my brother, so I could see why she might be like that.

"Really good actually. He writes to me all the time and we met up once so, yeah…" she trailed off, and I could tell that she was happy.

"I'm glad you're happy Lils. He seems to like you a lot too" I told her, thinking about the chats me and Luca had had over the holidays. She beamed at me, looking very pleased with my remark.

Eventually we were all settled in for the night, Lizzy bagsying my bed (pretty standard really) and she wriggled about trying to get comfortable. Most of the girls had fallen asleep by now except somebody on the floor next to me. Turning on my side I saw Fiona wriggling about.

"Can't sleep?" I whispered, watching as she spun quickly to look up at me.

"I don't know why. I'm just quite fidgety" she told me with a grin.

"Are you comfortable enough? Do you want my bed?" I asked her, already getting up to switch with her.

"No, no of course not! This is actually very comfortable. Honestly!" she said, finally stopping her fidgeting and curling up.

"Well just tell me if you do" I told her.

"Yeah, yeah I will" she replied, smiling up at me. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" she asked me, her smile widening.

"Um, not that I know of" I said, slightly warily. Fiona looked very happy with this information.

"Well, how about you spend the day with me?" she asked. I smiled back at her, thinking that this would not be a bad thing at all.

"I'll have to check of course, but if everything's good then yeah, I'd love to!" I told her happily.

"Glad to hear it. Now get some sleep, you're guna need your energy for tomorrow" she told me with a grin before shutting her eyes and turning around. Excited about tomorrow, I quickly closed my eyes and tried getting in some sleep.

The next day saw a very large and amazing breakfast provided by Sarah and which involved all of us girls as well as the whole family. A quick enlargement charm courtesy of Max (who was clearly showing off) meant that we all sat down together which was very enjoyable and filled with chatter. I had managed to corner Phil and Sarah in the kitchen while everybody else was dashing about putting food on the table and asked them about spending the day with Fiona. Phil seemed a bit wary but Sarah happily agreed at once and I could hear her tell Phil that it was good for me to be with friends as I left to tell Fiona the good news.

The rest of the girls departed shortly after breakfast which left just me and Fiona. After she packed all her stuff away I said goodbye to Phil, Sarah, Max, Sienna and Luke and we stepped into the fireplace.

"You ready?" Fiona asked me with a grin. I nodded and took her hand as she threw the floo powder down and in a flash of green we were spinning and knocking together. Eventually I could feel that we were slowing down and attempted to try and gain some sort of balance so that I wouldn't fall out of her fireplace and embarrass myself. Luckily, I had managed it just in time and only encountered a slight wobble as we appeared in her house.

"Mum! Dad! We're home" Fiona yelled, chucking her bag on the sofa as she beckoned me through the front room and into the kitchen.

"Good morning girls" Mrs. Shorts greeted us as she saw us walk in. She was very pretty, and looked just like Fiona; with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Mum Ally, Ally Mum" Fiona said offhandedly as she sat herself down on one of the bar stools.

"Very pleased to meet you Mrs. Shorts" I said politely, taking a seat next to Fiona.

"Oh please, call me Sally" she said, smiling at me. I smiled back as she began to potter about the kitchen, waving her wand at pots and pans.

"Have I had any mail?" Fiona asked, as her mum began to float food around the kitchen.

"Yeah, Pegasus came this morning" she said, and Fiona beckoned me out of the kitchen. Pegasus? That was weird, when my owl was called Hercules.

"Who's Pegasus?" I asked as she led me up the stairs, presumably to her room.

"James's owl" she informed me briefly as she skipped happily into her room and I saw the owl in question standing happily by the window. I took a seat on Fiona's bed as I watched her quickly scan the letter and nod her head.

"Lovely stuff. Right you ready?" she asked me suddenly, looking up at me with a grin.

"Ready for what?" I replied, wondering what on earth she was going on about.

"Our day of course" she said happily, dragging me back out of her room and down the stairs again.

"We're off now" Fiona yelled at her mum as we made our way back to the living room.

"Bye girls, have fun" her mum yelled back.

"Bye Sally" I shouted, deciding to join in.

"Bye Ally! Come round whenever you want dear" she yelled back and Fiona rolled her eyes before grabbing me and we began another floo journey to an unknown destination.

Eventually we slowed down and I prepared myself to stop. I stumbled a little but apart from that, managed to make it out okay. I looked round to see a huge living room, and looked towards Fiona.

"Where _are_ we?" I asked her, following her lead and stepping out of the fireplace. She said nothing but grinned at me and dragged me out of the room further into the house.

"Is that you Fiona?" somebody, a man, called from a room nearby.

"Of course!" she shouted back, following the sound and I found myself being pulled into a kitchen, of a similar size to the front room. Stood there were a man and woman, smiling at us in greeting.

"Ah, and you must be Ally" the man said, turning and looking at me. I had a strange suspicion of where I was, looking at the two people in front of me.

"It sure is. Ally, this is Matthew and Carol, James's parents" she said happily, watching my reaction carefully.

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you Mr and Mrs Potter" I said politely, smiling at them. They both smiled back.

"Please, it's Matt and Carol to you" Mrs Potter told me. "We didn't expect you for a few more hours" she said, turning to Fiona. "Did you even stop to speak to your parents?" she continued, looking at Fiona with a small frown on her face.

"Only mum was in and she was happy enough to let us come over early" Fiona told her happily, gazing round the room.

"Well the boys didn't think you would be here until later so they're down the bottom of the garden" Matt said, glancing out of the window.

"We'll go surprised them then!" Fiona exclaimed and before I could utter another word she had pulled me across the kitchen and out of the back door. A cold blast of air hit me and I was very glad that I had thought to put on my hat, scarf and gloves before leaving my house.

"Always have to be in the cold. Stupid cold England" I mumbled, pulling my scarf tighter around my neck and doing my coat right up to the top. Fiona laughed and skipped ahead of me. Grinning I sped up and stopped just a few metres in front of her. She laughed when she saw me and bent down to grab some snow.

"No. Fiona. Seriously. No. No snow" I said as she started moulding the snow into the shape of a ball. I started backing away as she advanced on me.

"Fiona!" I shrieked, now running around her, hopefully fast enough that she wouldn't see me.

"I will get you Ally Turner!" she exclaimed now throwing snow balls randomly and quickly.

"Cold! Cold! Cold!" I shouted as I stopped as she had eventually managed to get me. She laughed hysterically and began running away like a maniac, through a hedge right at the bottom of the garden. I quickly bent down and scooped up some snow before following her. Going through the edge I saw her running and quickly sped up to get her. Success! She stopped and laughed, grabbing some more snow and flinging it in my direction. Getting further into the game I too gathered some more snow and we ended up playing round in the snow for a good ten minutes or so before Fiona, teeth chattering, relented.

"Okay, okay! You win! I'm freezing" she told me, smiling nonetheless.

"Now you know how it feels" I told her, grinning at her. All of a sudden I heard footsteps crunching in the snow and turned to look in the direction they were coming from; just behind Fiona. Suddenly, James and Sirius emerged, holding broomsticks and looking curious. These expressions changed when they saw us however and James broke out in a huge smile.

"Ally!" he exclaimed, dropping his broom to come over to me and give me a big hug.

"Hey James" I said happily, hugging him back.

"I'm really glad you came" he told me as he broke away, beaming at me.

"It's not like I ever had much choice with Fiona" I said with a chuckle, which earned me a smack in the head with a snow ball. Quickly, I bent down and chucked one back at her. She caught my eye and grinned and I knew what she was thinking instantly. She started making another snow ball and I did the same. The boys, thinking we were just going to hit each other again stood there smirking. However, this was the wrong thing for them to do as me and Fiona both stated throwing snowballs at them.

"Oh this is WAR!" James and Sirius both yelled at the exact same time, and this is exactly what ensued.

After a good half an hour of more snow fights the three of them collapsed on the snow. I stood there, teeth chattering, feeling ridiculously cold.

"Why don't you sit down?" James asked me, a frown on his face.

"I'm cold enough as it is, that will only make me colder" I told him, tugging my scarf a bit tighter as it had come a bit loose during our snow ball fight.

"Give me a hand then" Fiona said, rolling her eyes and holding her hand out. I walked over and took her hand, only for her to pull me down into the snow next to her. Fiona burst out laughing as did James and Sirius, leaving me very cold and very unhappy.

"Gee, thanks for that Fi" I said frowning at her, and moving myself into a sitting position.

"Come on then, let's go and get some food. I'm actually pretty hungry" James said, getting up very quickly. Fiona and Sirius also jumped up looking pretty eager at the sound of food. Caught unawares, Fiona found herself victim of another snowball hit direct in the back of the head, thrown by James.

"Ooo you're going to regret that!" she exclaimed and he started running back up to the house with Fiona in pursuit. Sirius chuckled as he turned to offer me a hand up. I took it and he pulled me up, letting my hand drop pretty quickly; unlike the other times where he held onto my hand for as long as possible. I found that I was actually slightly disappointed by this and shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. I couldn't really be disappointed by this. Could I?

"So how was your Christmas?" Sirius asked, interrupting my trail of thought. I looked at him to see him smiling at me.

"Yeah, it was really nice. I really enjoyed seeing everybody. I heard about your eventful Christmas wake up" I told him with a grin. He laughed as he shook his head.

"You can see where James gets it from I guess" I continued and he nodded.

"It's always a great laugh here" he said, and he looked very happy.

"Did you enjoy the rest of your Christmas then?" I asked, returning his question.

"Yeah it was really good" he said. I watched as he attempted to put a smile on his face but it didn't seem totally genuine. He looked preoccupied and I left him to his thoughts as we continued to walk along in silence. I knew that Sirius had moved in with the Potters as Fiona had told me but she hadn't gone into further details about it and it had never been brought up so I didn't really know much about it. However, I knew what it was like to want to keep certain things to yourself so never questioned it or asked I just accepted it.

"Did you have a good time last night?" Sirius asked me quietly, breaking our silence. I glanced over at him and saw that he still didn't look entirely happy but said nothing.

"Yeah it was really nice to see the girls again and catch up with everybody, I've missed them" I told him, and he smiled and nodded.

"Yeah I know what you mean. Can't seem to ever get rid of James though" he said with a grin and I laughed.

"You make it sound like a bad thing" I replied and he laughed.

"It truly is. It pains me to be around somebody who pines over Lily so constantly" he said and I looked over at him.

"Really?" I asked. I remember my conversation with Remus when he told me about how James felt about her.

"Yeah. He always has though. I think he's finding it a bit hard because her going out with De Piesto shows him that she really isn't into him at all" he explained and I nodded.

"She really likes Luke" I told him and he sighed.

"Yeah it's pretty obvious to see but James doesn't seem to be able to give up on her" he said and then laughed. "Wow that sounded so much less lame in my head". I laughed as well.

"Maybe he should try and move on?" I questioned, looking at Sirius. He frowned and shrugged.

"Easier said than done" was all he said on the matter.

"Come on you two! Mum's made us soup!" James yelled from the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and Sirius laughed, jogging to the door to the kitchen.

The rest of the day passed very quickly and before I knew it, it was approaching dinner time.

"Do you know what would be cool?" James asked as we lounged about in the front room, watching Sirius and Fiona play chess.

"What?" Fiona asked, her eyes not leaving the board.

"If you two stayed" he replied and Fiona turned to look at him.

"That would be cool! What do you reckon Ally?" she asked, turning to loo at me. I shrugged,

"I would have to clear it with Sarah and Phil first" I told them and James nodded.

"Yeah sure. Come on then! Let's go ask them" he said jumping up instantly.

"Would your parents be okay with us staying?" I asked him, not yet moving from my seat.

"Good point" he said, dashing out of the room. I turned my attention to Sirius and Fiona, the latter of whom looked deep in concentration. They sat dead still for a few minutes before Fiona's eyes eventually lit up and she moved a piece. She looked very happy with herself and I couldn't help but smile. Just then, James came whizzing back in the room looking very happy.

"They both said it's fine. And they said that I have to go back with you and my mum's given me a note to pass on" he said all in one breath.

"Come on let's go!" he exclaimed, grabbing my hand and forcing me up.

"Be back in a bit" he said to the other two before pulling me into the fireplace.

"Charringdon Cottage!" I exclaimed, throwing the floo powder into the green flames and we at once began to spin.

"Ally is that you dear?" I heard Sarah call from the kitchen as me and James arrived in the fireplace.

"Yeah" I shouted back, dusting myself down and beckoning James to follow me. I led him into the kitchen where Sarah was sat with Sienna.

"Oh hello. It's James isn't it?" Sarah asked, smiling at him as we walked in.

"It is indeed. It's very nice to see you again" he said politely, smiling back.

"Hi Si" I greeted Sienna who grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head before turning my attention to Sarah.

"I was just wondering if it would be okay for me to stay at James's tonight?" I asked and I could see her raise her eyebrows. "Fiona will be there too" I added on hastily, knowing what she was hesitating about.

"My mum told me to pass this along" James said, offering her the note he had with him. We all watched as Sarah read the letter, a smile now on her face. She laughed a little as she read the last few lines.

"Well it's fine with me" she said at last, and watched as I smiled.

"Thank you!" I told her happily, going round to give her a hug.

"You're welcome. Now, you should go and get your stuff" she said, shooing me away.

"You coming James?" I asked him and Sienna laughed. I turned to glare at her which only made her laugh more.

"Behave Sienna" Sarah told her sternly. I led James out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room.

"Guess my mum's letter cleared everything" James said with a grin as he took a seat on my bed. Hercules flew over and landed on the bed post next to James. He happily stroked him and Hercules hooted happily.

"He seems to like you" I commented as I grabbed a bag from my wardrobe and began stuffing some clean clothes and things.

"So this is where you live when you're in England then?" James confirmed and I nodded.

"Yeah, Sarah and Phil thought we would need somewhere to stay, seeing as we would be here more often now, what with me being in Hogwarts and all" I explained as I looked round to make sure I had everything. I quickly went to the bathroom to get some toiletries before coming back completely prepared. I watched at the doorway as James wondered round my room looking at the many pictures that adorned the walls and cupboard surfaces. He obviously felt me watching him and he turned round and smiled at me.

"Looks like you have some pretty good memories here" he said quietly, and I could see him watching me very closely. I nodded and smiled, not going into any details. Many of the pictures we of me, mum and dad and I could see the questions in his eyes.

"Shall we get going then?" I asked him as I stepped back out into the hallway. He said nothing but nodded and followed me out. I was about to go down the stairs when I remembered Max.

"Oh, I had best pop my head in to see Max quickly" I told him and I turned round and headed to the room next to mine. I knocked on the door and heard him yell

"WHAT?" I reply and so took that as an invitation to come in.

"Calm down, it's only me" I said as I opened the door. He was sat at his desk and spun round to smile at me.

"Oh hello trouble" he greeted and I saw him looking behind me to see James standing in the hall by the door.

"Hi James" he called out and James took this as a safe sign to move further into the room.

"Hi Max" he replied, grinning at him.

"What are you two up to then?" Max asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

"I'm, er, staying at James's tonight" I said hesitantly and watched a very big frown appear on his face. "I've already cleared it with Sarah before you decide to have an input" I continued quickly. He raised his eyebrows and glanced quickly at James.

"Well in that case, have fun" Max said, and I could see him relax a little bit. I shook my head,

"Will do. Come on James" I said, not that he needed any encouragement and he very quickly walked out of the door.

"Remember your punching technique" Max muttered to me, and I turned to see him grinning. I punched him instead, and, after a final sweet smile shut the door in his face.

"Ignore him" I said to James who seemed to look a little worried. However, at my words he smiled a little and continued walking down the stairs.

"Right, now Phil" I said with a smile and I could see James hesitate.

"I'll be two minutes, you can stay here if you want?" I asked him and he nodded.

"I'll go in the kitchen to be sociable" he told me with a grin and he headed there while I headed to the office. I knocked on the door and heard him beckon me in.

"Oh, I thought I heard you come in" he said with a smile, putting down his quill. I smiled back and nodded.

"I just came in to check that it was okay if I stay at James's tonight? I have asked Sarah and she said yes but I thought I would double check with you" I said quickly, watching his reaction.

"Well if Sarah has cleared it then it's fine with me too" he said and I went round to give him a hug. "Have a good time" he said and I skipped out of the office, closing the door behind me. On entering the kitchen I found James sat happily with Sarah and Sienna telling them, judging by their laughter, one of the many pranks him and the Marauders had pulled.

"Honestly James. What does your mother do with you?" Sarah asked, shaking her head.

"Well she has to put up with dad too; I think she just got used to it" he said with a grin, spotting me standing and watching.

"Ready then?" he asked me with a smile. I nodded and turned to Sarah and Si.

"I'll see you tomorrow then" I told them and Si got up to give me a hug.

"Behave yourselves" Sarah said, and James grinned at her.

"We'll try" he replied cheekily, making Sarah laugh.

"Stay safe" she told us and I nodded as I grabbed James and we made our way back to the front room.

"I like your family" he told me happily and I smiled but said nothing. "Right, let's get moving" he said, grabbing my hand and flooing us back to his house. He had to steady me as we arrived as my mind was somewhere else completely. Sirius and Fiona both looked up as we arrived, having apparently finished their game.

"Who won?" James asked as he took my bag off me and put it by the door before sitting down on the sofa and beckoning me to sit down. I sat down on one of the many, very comfy sofas and curled up happily.

"Nobody" Fiona said quickly.

"Well, technically I won as Fiona gave up" Sirius told us and Fiona threw a cushion at him.

"It just gets boring after a while" she said, grinning. As we were sat there Matthew came in carrying an owl I recognised.

"Oh, what's Uriel doing here?" Fiona asked frowning, standing up and taking the owl.

"This guy just flew into the kitchen ruffling his feathers importantly. Figured it was for one of you" he said and Uriel flew over to Fiona with a gentle hoot.

"Thanks" she said as she took the letter and read it through quickly. A smile spread on her face as she reached further down the letter.

"We're on for the party!" she said happily, putting the letter down and looking at us. Party? Oh. Callum's party she must mean.

"Callum's I take it?" Sirius asked, looking at Fiona. She nodded, smiling.

"I take it all you girls are going?" James asked looking at me and Fiona. I shrugged, unsure.

"Of course! You boys will obviously be going as well" she told them.

"Well, there would be some team trouble if not" he told her with a grin.

We sat around in the front room for ages just talking and having a laugh. We had completely lost track of time when Matthew and Carol came in.

"I know you're on holiday kids but it's just gone eleven so you might want to think about winding down for the night" Carol said, looking round at all of us. I didn't mind too much as I was still feeling pretty tired from last night.

"And not too much noise boys" Matthew added as they bade us goodnight and headed up to bed. I had enjoyed the evening with Fiona, James and Sirius. It was nice to just spend time with them all again and it was always so easy to be around them. Fiona yawned loudly, interrupting my thoughts and bringing me back to the present.

"Is that a hint?" James asked with a grin. Fiona shrugged,

"We did have a late night yesterday and early start today to be fair. And, playing in the snow takes it out of you!" she exclaimed, defending her tiredness.

"Alright, alright! Come on then" James said with a sigh, jumping up. Fiona and I got up much slower as we followed him out of the room and up the stairs. The house was so big and the stair case branched off in two directions. James took a left and opened the door straight opposite the stairs.

"You two will be in here if that's okay?" he asked, looking at the two of us. It was a pretty big room with a huge double bed in it.

"It will be more than okay" I told him smiling, taking my bag off of him.

"The bathroom's just next door. Sirius is the door next to you on the left and I'm on the right" he told me. "Sleep well and see you in the morning" he said with a smile as he went to leave the room.

"Night" Fiona and I both said.

"Night you two" came Sirius's voice.

"Night" Fiona said as she moved passed him to go to the bathroom. I looked at Sirius and he smiled crookedly at me, making me smile widely back at him.

"Night" I told him quietly, and he sent me a quick wink before departing, making me blush.

I woke up abruptly wondering where I was and why I was awake when it was still dark outside. Fiona was muttering to herself in her sleep and kicked me. Well, that would be what woke me up.

"Gee Fi" I muttered, turning over and moving towards the edge of the bed, away from Fiona. However, I was now wide awake and couldn't really sleep so I got up and went to the window to look out over the garden. I scanned the snow covered ground, thinking how beautiful it looked when a movement caught my eye. The moon shone brightly on the snow making everything highly visible when two figures moved out into the open. I froze in absolute shock. It couldn't be. No. Not here. I blinked in case I was seeing things but opening my eyes the image was still there. Walking across the lawn was a stag and a dog.


	21. New Years

**A/N: Sorry for the ridiculous late update. Had a lot on and so hadn't been able to write as much as I would have liked. I just want to say a quick thank you for everybody who reviewed; it really motivated me to keep going and I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine**

**Ally's POV**

I literally couldn't believe it. I watched for a couple more seconds before making up my mind. I quickly grabbed my jumper from my bag and quietly left the room. I knocked on James's door but didn't hear a reply. I hesitated for a moment before opening the door. The moon shone brightly through the window, clearly showing me an empty bed. It couldn't be. I quietly shut the door and ran to Sirius's room, doing the exact same. Again, an empty bed. My head was whirring with thoughts as I shut the door. I flew down the stairs and through the kitchen slipping on my shoes which were by the door as I stepped out into the garden. I tried to make as little sound as possible but the snow made it difficult. I was aware of the crunching of the snow, my heavy breathing as I bypassed a bush and peered out from behind it. Stood, looking in my direction was the stag and dog. They stood stock still and watched me. I stepped out from behind the bush and moved cautiously in their direction but they did not move. I made sure to keep my walk at a normal pace, although I was dying to just get straight over there. As I came within a metre I stopped short and looked at them. They both hadn't moved and were still watching me warily. I took a deep breath and moved closer, leaving just a foot of space between us. I looked at the stag; taking in its size and its antlers…wait. Its antlers. I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth.

"Prongs…Padfoot" I muttered to myself, my eyes wide. I couldn't believe it. The answer to my question so long ago had quite literally been staring me in the face for months. The stag shuffled its hooves in a nervous fashion and I stared at it, or should I say him.

"James?" I questioned quietly, and I stretched my hand out. Seeing where I was going with it, he stepped forward and my hand made contact with his head. He was really soft and I chuckled quietly to myself as he nuzzled my hand. Feeling left out, the dog came up and nudged my side, looking up at me and wagging his tail.

"Sirius?" I asked and he licked my hand happily.

"Eww! Was that really necessary?" I asked, wiping my hand on my jumper. The dog let out a small bark and nudged my other hand for a stroke. As I was standing there, looking at the dog another thought hit me like a tonne of bricks. Sirius. His animagus form was my patronus! I literally stopped dead; stopped stroking the both of them and let my hands fall by my side. What could this mean? How? I…I didn't understand. A small pop brought me back to the present and I looked up to see Sirius and James standing in front of me.

"Ally are you alright?" James asked me quietly, taking in my shocked expression. I nodded but could tell he didn't believe me. He stepped closer to me and put a hand on my arm. I watched him frown and he looked at me closer.

"Oh crap Ally. Look at you. You're bludy freezing!" he exclaimed and he looked over at Sirius. He came forward and took one of my hands in his own.

"We need to get you inside. Now" he said in a forceful tone which surprised me. I looked up and he had a frown on his face and he gently led me in the direction of the house. Entering the kitchen made me realise just how cold I was and my teeth started chattering as the warm air hit my face, burning it slightly.

"My mum's guna kill me if you're ill" James muttered, leading me into the front room. Sirius pointed his wand at the fireplace and muttered a quick spell, making huge flames appear and a rush of warmth flood over the room. James quickly picked up a blanket from the sofa and wrapped me tightly in it before pushing me down on the sofa directly in front of the fire.

"I'll go get her something warm to drink" Sirius muttered to James and he then left the room.

"Ally, are you okay?" James asked me quietly as he took a seat next to me.

"I'm cold and…very surprised" I told him, and he smiled.

"Your eyes did kind of give you away" he said with a small chuckle.

"Just…how? Why?" I asked him, turning as much as the blanket would allow. He was about to say something when Sirius came back in the room with a mug.

"Drink this. It'll help" he told me, waiting for me to free my arms before handing it to me and sitting down on my other side. I drank a little bit and felt the heat instantly spread. However, this did result in me burning my mouth so I just held my mug, allowing the drink to cool down a bit more. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Sirius give James a certain look and I waited for them to explain.

"It's difficult" James told me with a sigh, and I looked over at him to see him gazing at the fire, a frown on his face. "It's, well, it's not really our place to say. All you need to know is that we can do it" he said, looking confused at his own words. I looked between the two of them, confused myself.

"But it's such advanced magic! How long did it take you?" I asked; keen to know at least something. James grinned and Sirius chuckled.

"A couple of years. We started in third year and finally managed it in fifth year" Sirius told me, and I spun to look at him.

"Wow. I'm very impressed" I told them both with a smile. They smiled back and looked a little relieved. I drank the rest of my drink and was thankful for the warmth it provided me with. I wasn't feeling totally warm just yet though but had a lot to think about. I just couldn't explain my patronus. I didn't understand and, as I thought about it, I began to feel embarrassed. In class that day, all of the Marauders would have recognised the familiar dog and yet I didn't have a clue. Now, however, was a completely different story. I would definitely have to research about it and find out what on earth was happening.

"You still with us?" I heard James say. I blinked and turned to look at him, seeing him grinning at me.

"Yeah, fine, sorry" I told him, shaking my head a little. He took my mug out of my hand, brushing my hand as he done so,

"Jeez you're still freezing. Warm up would you!" he said as he got up to take my mug back into the kitchen.

"I don't know why you came out in the garden without putting some more clothes on" Sirius said quietly, grinning at me.

"I didn't give much time to thinking" I said with a shrug and he chuckled at me. I felt him touch the back of my hand and felt a funny, warm feeling.

"He's right. You really do need to warm up" he said quietly, frowning at me. "I'll go and get you another jumper" he continued, springing up and walking out of the room. As he left James came back, watching Sirius go.

"Where'd he go?" he asked me, coming to sit back down next to me.

"To get me another jumper" I said quietly, and James laughed.

"Honestly, come here" he said, throwing an arm round the back of the sofa and giving me a tug so I was sitting right next to him. He started rubbing my arm, trying to get my circulation going again.

"I'm sorry" I told him.

"I don't know why you're apologising!" he said with a chuckle. I shrugged when I realised I was unsure why I was apologising as well. It was then that Sirius returned and he stopped in the doorway, eyebrows raised. He looked at James and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw James shake his head. Sirius hesitated before coming and taking a seat next to me again.

"You should put this on" he said, passing his jumper to me.

"Thanks" I replied, shrugging out of the blanket to put his jumper on. After that I put the blanket back round me, as I was still feeling a bit chilly. We sat in silence for a bit and watching the flames started making me feel tired. A lot had gone on today and it was ridiculously early in the morning. As me eyes started to close I felt myself falling a bit, only to hit something solid. Moving my head just slightly, I could see I was now leaning on Sirius.

"Oh, sorry" I mumbled, starting to move.

"No, no it's fine" he told me, gently pulling me back. Very slowly, I felt him put his arm round me, putting me right against his chest. Then, I felt James carefully pick my legs up and put them on him.

"You should get some sleep" I heard Sirius mutter and I needed no further encouragement as my eyes slowly closed.

I didn't want to wake up; I only did because I was absolutely boiling. Shuffling slightly, I pulled the blanket off and moved around, feeling very content. I closed my eyes again and managed to fall back asleep.

It seemed like only two seconds after that I woke back up again. I stirred as I heard somebody close the day and turned my head in that direction. Very slowly I tried opening my eyes. The room wasn't too bright as I took in my surroundings. Gradually the events of last night started coming back to me and I just couldn't shake the whole patronus thing. I just didn't understand it and didn't know why it had happened. All of a sudden I felt movement from the area around my head and realised just how I had fallen asleep. This, embarrassingly, had happened far too often with Sirius. I blushed and waited until I felt my cheeks cool down a bit before shifting and sitting up a bit.

"Morning" I whispered, trying not to look him in the eye.

"Morning" he replied huskily, stretching a bit. I shuffled upright a bit but realised that my legs were still on James and he was still fast asleep with his arms resting on them.

"That's a bit inconvenient for you" Sirius remarked, sitting himself upright.

"Just a bit" I agreed. I looked round the room to try and get an estimation of the time but the curtains were all shut.

"Eight o'clock. Far, far too early" Sirius said, and I turned to see him looking at his watch with a frown on his face; almost as if he wished it was lying to him.

"Want a hand trying to free your legs?" he asked me with a smirk and I nodded, smiling at him. He got up and quietly made his way over to James. Very slowly, he lifted James's arms up and I equally slowly moved my legs off of him. I quickly grabbed a cushion and put it on his lap and Sirius put his arms back and funnily enough, James stayed sound asleep.

"Right. Now that's sorted. If I must be up at this time it should definitely involve some sort of food" he said, offering me his hand. I hesitated slightly before taking it and he looked at me with a grin.

"Much hotter" he commented, before letting my hand drop and beckoning me through to the kitchen. I followed him willingly, feeling quite peckish. As we entered we saw that it was empty and I watched him as he pottered about the kitchen. He picked up a piece of parchment and scanned through it quickly. I watched as his frown deepened and worry filled his eyes.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him quietly. He looked up at me and he tried to smile but failed miserably.

"Um, yeah, fine, everything's fine" he said, looking away from me and back to the parchment. I moved over to stand next to him and hesitated slightly before putting my hand on his arm. He looked at me, seeming slightly surprised by the action.

"Are you sure?" I asked, uncertain whether I should be pushing it this far. He sighed and shook his head.

"It's….James's parents. They're both Auror's. They've gone in for some sort of emergency. With everything that's going on it's just…we worry a lot. It's stupid, I'm sorry you don't want to know" he said, shaking his head towards the end and turning to move away. I grabbed his arm and he turned to look at me.

"It's not stupid at all" I told him quietly and I slowly moved in to give him a hug. He seemed a bit surprised at first but then hugged me back tightly.

"Thanks" he said quietly and I pulled away and saw him smiling at me.

"Any time" I told him, returning his smile.

"Right, breakfast" Sirius said suddenly, his eyes lighting up. I just laughed as he started searching cupboards.

The rest of the morning flew past and James and Fiona had joined us after about an hour of Sirius constantly putting food in front of us. There had been a bit of a tense moment when James read through the note and I could tell that Sirius was just trying to distract him and take his mind off things. When it hit twelve I decided it was time to make a move.

"Oh do you have to?" James whined when I told him. I nodded and laughed.

"I think Sarah and Phil might actually want to see me for a bit before I go back" I told him as they all escorted me to the fireplace.

"Right well we have all our plans sorted for New Years, so I'll owl you with all the details to remind you" Fiona told me with a grin as she gave me a hug.

"How would I be able to forget?" I asked her with a grin and she just shrugged. I looked over at James who looked unimpressed by my imminent departure.

"You're going to see me in a couple of days! Honestly" I told him and he smiled.

"Yeah I know. I'll see you then I guess" he said giving me a hug.

"Yes you will" I said, laughing slightly. I turned to Sirius who was looking at me with a smile on his face.

"I guess I'll see you soon then" he said quietly, moving in to give me a hug. "Thanks for earlier by the way" he said quietly as he hugged me.

"You're welcome" I whispered back and he squeezed me quickly before letting me go.

"Right. I'll see you all at the party then!" I told them, before I stepped into the green flames. I had one last glimpse of them smiling at me before I disappeared into the fire.

The next two days passed quickly and I mainly spend time with Sarah, Phil, Max and Sienna. Before I knew it, Fiona was back round at my house to come and get me to go to Lizzy's to get ready.

"Come on!" she was moaning at me as I was putting my stuff in my bag.

"Remembered everything?" Sienna asked me from the door, standing around in her towel as she also had a party to go to tonight. I cringed, knowing she was talking about the dress she had specifically picked out for me.

"Yes. Everything" I told her, finally ready.

"Let's go then!" Fiona said happily, watching as I zipped up my bag.

"Have fun tonight!" Sienna said as she stalked back to her room.

"You too" Fiona and I replied at the same time. Fiona raced down the stairs ahead of me and into the kitchen.

"Bye Sarah, Phil, Max" she said excitedly and they all laughed at her.

"Way too excited Fi" I told her as I entered.

"Have fun tonight girls" Sarah said, smiling at me.

"Oh we really well" Fiona replied quickly, looking very happy and excited and a little bit hyper.

"See you tomorrow" I told them, going round and giving them a quick kiss goodbye before following Fiona out to the front room.

"Right, let's go get ready!" Fiona exclaimed before pulling me into the fire place and throwing the floo powder in, transporting us away.

After a few seconds of spinning we came to a grinding halt and I stumbled a little before righting myself. However, this balance didn't last too long when Lizzy hurtled herself at me.

"Ah I'm so excited to see you!" she said, finally letting me go and standing back, a massive smile on her face.

"Or excited for the party?" I asked her and she laughed.

"Both of course!" she replied. "Now come on! Everybody else is here! We don't have long!" she continued, now pushing me and Fiona out of the room.

"Alright, alright!" I exclaimed and she laughed at me. She pranced in front of us and led us up a staircase and into her bedroom. On entering we could see the rest of the girls already there and Fiona danced in happily.

"How's it going guys?" she asked, putting her stuff doing and taking a seat on Lizzy's bed which was strewn with clothes.

"I literally do not know what to wear" was Susan's reply, and I could see her looking at her many dress options. I rolled my eyes as I fully came into the room and took a seat next to Lily on the floor.

"I hope you're prepared for this" she muttered to me grinning.

"I'm really not" was my reply, as I settled in for a couple of hours of absolute mayhem.

I was right. It was chaos. Sienna had already picked out my dress for me so I didn't have any of that hassle; all I needed to do was to put it on. Well, that's what I thought. Lizzy however, had other ideas and had sat me down to sort me out "properly" as she put it. At last, at half past eight we were all ready to go. We made our way downstairs to find Lizzy's parents and little brother in the living room.

"Oh you girls look absolutely wonderful! I have to take some pictures" her mum said excitedly and dashed off to get her camera.

"Oh mum, we need to go" Lizzy moaned.

"Ooo we need a group picture! This will be nice!" Lily told her and the rest of the girls nodded in agreement. We all shuffled about as Lizzy's mum came back, camera in hand.

"Right, you ready girls?" she asked us and we all nodded and smiled. Mrs Mews took a fair few pictures of us; everybody wanted a picture with somebody in particular and then we had house pictures. However, I didn't mind at all as Mrs Mews promised us all copies which meant that I could fill up my photo album.

Finally, everybody was ready and we stepped into the fireplace.

"Bye bye" Ben, Lizzy's little brother said, waving at us as we disappeared into the flames.

**Fiona's POV**

Arriving by floo was not the most graceful way to enter a party but luckily nobody was in this room. We could hear music coming from a few rooms away so we followed the sound and arrived at the main party. Callum's house was absolutely huge and his parents always allowed him to have a house party for New Year; and this year it seemed to be the biggest yet. It was absolutely rammed with people and we gradually made our way through the room, saying our hello's to the odd person we knew.

"I'm going to go and find Luke" Lily told us over the music.

"Tell him I say hi and I'll come find him later" Ally told her and Lily nodded before disappearing.

"Drink time?" Mandy asked with a grin and I nodded,

"Of course!" I replied and I stood on my tiptoes to try and see where all of the cups and stuff were.

"Aha!" I said as I pinpointed the table. "Follow me" I told the others and made my way over. We were almost there when I bumped into Will Masters.

"Oh hi Fiona" he greeted me with a warm smile.

"Hey Will" I replied, smiling back. I could see him looking behind me and rolled my eyes.

"She's just coming" I told him and watched him look at me unimpressed.

"What?" I exclaimed but he just shrugged and said nothing.

"Oh hey Will" Ally said happily as she joined us, moving forward to giving him a hug.

"Hey. You look great" he told her and she blushed a little.

"Not looking so bad yourself" she replied with a small grin and he smiled at her. I stood there and rolled my eyes. Honestly, those two. I looked round the room while they caught up and exchanged Christmas stories when I spotted the people I was looking for.

"The guys are over there" I told the other girls and I saw Ally turn in my direction.

"You coming?" I asked her and she nodded. I grinned at her and she just shook her head at me.

"Come on then! See you later Will" I said as I led the girls over to the guys. As we approached I could see them deep in conversation. I quietly made my way to stand behind them and could hear the muttering in seemingly deep conversation.

"Jeez guys, lighten up! It's supposed to be a party!" I exclaimed loudly, making them all jump.

"Yeah, hi to you too" James grumbled and I smacked him.

"Be nice" I told him and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Hey girls, where's Lily?" he asked, looking round. I chanced a quick glance at Ally who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Um, she went to find Luke" Ally told him, and he looked deflated. I looked round at the other guys, grinning at Remus who returned it eagerly, Peter who looked ridiculously happy and then Sirius, who was just staring at Ally.

"I'm going to go um…yeah…" James muttered and started moving away. I turned to Ally to see her watching him before she turned to me.

"I'm just going to go talk to him" she said to me quietly and then turned and disappeared through the crowd.

"Like what you see?" I asked Sirius and he turned to look at me with his eyebrows raised. He looked like he was just about to say something when Lizzy came to stand next to me, looking slightly panicked.

"Alex is coming over. What do I do? Shall I say something? Do you think I should go?" she started muttering, obviously nervous.

"Lizzy, it'll be fine. Just stay here and act normal. Well, as normal as you can" I added on with a cheeky grin and I was relieved to see her smile a little. I had never known her to get this nervous and I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"Hey guys" Alex said smiling as he approached us. The guys nodded and I chanced a quick glance at Lizzy to see her give him a small smile.

"Hey Alex" I told him happily, and he turned to look at me curiously.

"That was a suspiciously warm welcome" he told me with a slight frown.

"I'm offended, I was just being nice!" I replied and he grinned at me.

"Enjoying yourselves so far?" he asked us and we nodded.

"It's really good. Callum about?" Sirius asked, looking around. Alex shrugged,

"Last time I saw him he was chatting up some girl" he said with a grin, looking specifically at Sirius.

"Doesn't waste much time does he?" I said, and I saw Sirius roll his eyes. "In fact, I'm surprised you haven't already found a victim for tonight" I said to him and he frowned at me.

"You have such a high opinion of me" he said shaking his head but Alex laughed.

"She's right. You've kept yourself a bit quiet this term so far. A few of the lads even seem a bit disappointed; they've had nobody to compete against" he remarked and Sirius grinned.

"Well, I've got to give you all a chance at some point haven't I?" he replied and Alex laughed.

"Right, I'm guna go and get myself a top up. I'll see you round guys" Alex told us and he walked off still laughing at Sirius's reply. I stared at Sirius and he just looked at me, utterly nonplussed.

"Well…aren't you going to set them up with a bit of competition?" I asked him, intrigued to see how he would reply.

"Yeah Sirius, don't want people to think you've lost your touch" Remus added, and I turned to see him grinning at Sirius. The latter just looked at him but Remus said nothing.

"I guess I could always go and see what's available" he finally said, and with a final wink he sauntered off.

"Well this will be interesting" Remus said, and I nodded in agreement.

**Ally's POV**

I was really enjoying the part so far. After I had spoken to James to make sure that he was alright I had been whisked off by Edward and Jacob and we had been having a good laugh; it was so good to catch up with the pair of them and I realised now how much I had missed them both. I had also had a good time with the girls and Lily had spent a large portion of her night with us too. I finally managed to sit myself down after standing up for so long when the rest of the girls joined me.

"This is a great party!" Susan exclaimed, looking very hot and flustered.

"And where have you been might I ask?" Mandy inquired, as Susan had kept disappearing throughout the night for various lengths of time. Susan grinned but said nothing and waved an airy hand.

"She's been getting around" Fiona interjected and Susan looked shocked and hit Fiona playfully.

"I'm entitled to have some fun every now and again" she said defensively, but there was still a slight smile on her face.

"I can't believe it's nearly midnight already!" Alice said, as she came and sat on the arm of the chair I was sitting on (she had just been with Frank…).

"Tell me about it! It's gone fast! Who's everybody got lined up then?" Susan asked, leaning forward and looking round eagerly at all of us. I looked at her confused and glanced round at the other girls who rolled their eyes.

"You don't need to have someone you know" Lily said, frowning at Suze.

"Just because you have somebody! You're alright!" Lizzy told her, grinning at Lily's blush. Oh. Now I knew what they were talking about. I blushed a little, hoping that I wasn't the only person without somebody; that could be a bit awkward.

"Seriously? Anybody?" Susan asked, looking at us desperately.

"Honestly Suze. It's not big deal" Lizzy told her, rolling her eyes. Phew. That made me feel a little better, at least I wouldn't look horribly, lonely and pathetic and all of that.

"Still got fifteen minutes!" she said, not put off by Lizzy at all. Then again, Susan had been drinking. A lot.

"Hmm. Ally you'll obviously have Masters" she said, scanning the room and I blushed a little before regaining composure and staring at her.

"You know their just friends" Fiona told her, before I could say anything. I looked over at her and mouthed a quick 'thank you' and she smiled.

"Oh Edward or Jacob then, you have many choices" she continued, still staring at the room.

"Seriously Suze. You're talking about my _friends_" I told her, putting a lot of emphasise on the word 'friends'. She shrugged,

"Doesn't matter really. Only New Years" she continued, blabbering on to herself more than anything now.

"Lizzy you can have Alex. Mandy, go for Callum, he's really hot. Fiona…hmm…well if Ally doesn't want Masters you should totally go for him, he's just…" she trailed off. I shook my head and looked round at the others who were just staring at Susan. All of a sudden she just picked herself up and wandered off, disappearing into the huge crowd of people.

"She's going to be fun trying to get home" Lizzy remarked.

"I've never seen her too bad before. It's quite funny really" Alice giggled, having drunk a significant amount herself. I tried following where she was going but had no such luck. Instead I scanned the room and my eyes stopped on Sirius, who was talking to a girl who looked very interested in him and was laughing somewhat hysterically at something he had just said. I tore my eyes away, trying to push away certain feelings that had risen inside of me.

"Are you alright?" Fiona asked me. I looked at her and I knew she knew what I had been looking at. I plastered a smile on my face, determined to look happy.

"Yeah sure. I'm just going to go for a wander and see if I can find the boys" I told her, getting up and having a quick scan for Edward or Jacob.

"Alright but make sure you're around for 12 o'clock!" Lizzy told me with a smile and I nodded at her before I took off, going in the opposite direction of where I had just seen Sirius.

Ten minutes of unsuccessful searching for the guys led me to the conclusion that they had probably both found girls and retreated into some quiet corner with them. I stopped and instead tried looking for the girls but a pair of grey eyes found my own before I could find them. I looked away instantly and moved backwards; away from him.

"I've been looking for you" a husky voice told me, grabbing my arm. Dam. Those was some fast moves he had there.

"Oh really?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I turned round; determined not to look straight at him.

"Yes, really. I have something to show you" Sirius said, and I looked up at him curiously, a small smile on his face. Now he knew he had me. What did he have to show me at a party? He turned and started walking away, still holding onto my arm. I really had no choice but to follow as he lead me through the crowds and out into a very packed corridor before leading me into a much quieter room and then through another door which lead outside. He let go of my arm here and I moved forwards, slightly perplexed; we were outside, I could clearly see that, but I wasn't at all cold. I turned to him, about to ask him when he saw my eyes and chuckled.

"I put a charm round the area. I thought you might be cold" he explained and I looked at him, still confused.

"Follow me" he said and he moved further outside. Curious, I followed him onto a balcony which seemed to back on to the side of the main room that the party was in. Indeed, turning I could see through the window to see that it was absolutely packed with people.

"Look" he whispered, and I turned to see him looking out over the garden. I followed his gaze and was amazed. It was littered full of little lights, glowing brightly in the darkness.

"Callum has a load of fairies at the bottom of his garden and they always come out around this time before midnight to celebrate themselves" he told me in a quiet voice. I continued to stare out at the garden. It was so beautiful; the fluttering lights of the fairies were constantly streaming across the garden throwing different shapes onto the surrounding grounds.

"Have you had a good night so far?" he asked me casually, still keeping his voice quiet.

"Yeah it's been really good. I've enjoyed it. Have you?" I asked him, keeping the conversation light and not asking him things that I wanted to.

"It's been…interesting" he said, and I could hear a small smile in his voice. All of a sudden I could hear somebody from the other room shouting that it was only one more minute 'til midnight.

"We should probably go back inside. I'm sure you'll have a queue of girls waiting for you" I said to him, determined to keep my voice casual and looking anywhere but him. Sirius seemed to find what I had said amusing and he gave a small chuckle. However I was still determined not to look at him and so kept my gaze fixed on the fairies in the garden.

"What makes you say that?" he asked me, and I could feel him move a little closer to me. I maintained my gaze across the grounds as I answered him;

"Your reputation precedes you" I said slowly and once again heard him chuckle.

"I'd like to think I've changed a bit" he said quietly, and I could feel him staring at me.

"Your fan club will be disappointed then" I replied quietly, regretting what I had said as soon as the words had left my mouth.

"I don't really care about that" he told me, his voice lowering and I felt him move so that he was standing so close to me that we were touching. I didn't turn but felt my heart speed up stupid amounts.

"Ally?" he questioned and at last I had to give in. I turned around slowly and then looked up at him. He had a small smile on his face and his eyes never left mine.

"Yes?" I replied, my voice so quiet I could barely hear it myself. He began to lean in and I could see his face move closer to mine by the second. He put one of his hands on my back and pulled me even closer to himself. We were so close to each other now, and I hoped that he couldn't hear my heart pounding in my chest.

"Happy New Year" he whispered, before he closed the remaining distance between us and kissed me.


	22. Fireworks and Chaos

**A/N: Another chapter for you all **** Thank you again for those who reviewed, like I said, it really motivates me to keep writing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.**

**Ally's POV**

I just couldn't believe it. It was only a short kiss but I just honestly couldn't believe that he kissed me. As soon as we had broken apart everybody seemed to come streaming onto the balcony and many 'Happy New Years!' wishes and hugs were exchanged and I'm pretty sure that, throughout the whole process, I was grinning stupidly.

"You have to tell me everything later on" Lizzy had whispered in my ear when she had given me a New Years hug. I nodded my head and grinned at her and she smiled back. "You're stupidly happy. Jeez Ally" she had continued to say before shaking her head in apparent exasperation and then moving on to other people.

Sirius had been dragged off by the boys which had left me with Jacob and Edward (who had eventually come to find me themselves). However, I was mid-conversation with them when I felt somebody tap me on the shoulder. I spun round to find Chloe standing there.

"Hello you!" she said happily before she engulfed me in a hug. I hugged her back and I heard Edward and Jacob say that they were going to get a drink.

"Hey. How are you? Happy New Years by the way!" I told her happily, in a very good mood.

"You too! How have you been? How long have you been here?" she started chattering away, asking me questions.

"Yes I've been good. How about you? Did you have a nice Christmas?" I asked her politely in reply.

"Yeah Christmas was really nice. Been enjoying the party?" she replied.

"Um yeah it's been really good" I said, smiling to myself.

"I don't know how we haven't seen each other. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me" she told me, giving me a small smile. I frowned, confused.

"Why would I have been avoiding you?" I asked her, wondering if I had done something to give her that impression.

"Well you know. After what happened at the party after the Quidditch match…" she said, trailing off towards the end. I was still absolutely baffled and continued to look at her in a confused way.

"You know. You told me all about yourself…" she said quietly, looking round to make sure nobody was near us. My heart literally stopped beating for a second.

"What?" I asked, fearful for the answer.

"About how you're an Etoileige and all the things associated with it" she whispered, moving closer to me so that nobody would be able to hear our conversation whatsoever. My eyes widened and I was filled with dread and shock.

"E-everything?" I hesitantly asked her, hoping beyond hope that the answer would be no.

"Well I think so. I mean, I know how you're the same age as me, you know, fifteen and about your shape shifting" she whispered, watching me very closely. I felt the colour drain from my face and I felt like I was going to faint. How could I have told her that? My most guarded secret and I had gone and blabbed it to somebody I had only known five minutes; somebody who had previously hated me a lot until two months ago. Why would I have done this? I had been so careful throughout my first term and only Lily knew because Professor Dumbledore had told her. But why would I tell Chloe? I couldn't fathom my actions at all.

"Ally?" Chloe asked me, her voice regaining its normal volume which brought me back to reality. I looked up at her and she frowned at me.

"It's alright. I'm not going to tell anyone. Jeez Ally. Honestly" she said rolling her eyes and making everything seem perfectly normal and fine. But it wasn't. It wasn't at all.

"You won't tell anyone? Nobody Chloe? Not a soul?" I asked her, very insistently.

"Sure I won't. We're friends aren't we?" she asked me in return with a smile. A smile I didn't like.

The rest of the night passed horribly slowly. I stuck close to Chloe, scared she would let something slip if she had something to drink but she seemed okay. Sirius had tried to come over and talk to me but there was only one person I needed right now. Lily. I had tried to find her but she had been with Luke most of the night and I knew I wouldn't get an opportunity until later tonight or maybe not until we went back to Hogwarts.

Eventually the girls found me to say they were thinking of going and I gladly agreed as we began to say our goodbyes.

"Are you okay Ally?" James asked me as I gave him a very quick hug. I nodded my head but I really wasn't. All I wanted to do was get away from here; I needed some time to myself to think things over. I saw Sirius frown at me out the corner of my eye but I just couldn't think of anything else right now. Not even the kiss earlier. However, Sirius had seen me looking and began to make his way over to where I was standing.

"Ally are-"Sirius started saying but was interrupted by Fiona,

"Come on guys. Lizzy's waiting" she told us and I flashed Sirius a quick smile, not saying anything to him and departing quickly. I just couldn't wait to get home.

The rest of the holidays flew past in what seemed a mountain of worry. Before I knew it we were back at Hogwarts, treading up the many steps that led to our dormitory.

"You've been pretty quiet lately. Is everything okay?" Lily asked me with a frown, worry apparent in her eyes.

"Yeah it's fine. I'm just pretty tired" I lied, looking away from her so that she wouldn't see the colour change of my eyes.

"Well you know where I am if you ever need me, okay? Any time" she said quietly, before heading into the dormitory and over to her bed. I sighed; I hadn't been able to speak to Lily at all and had now decided against it. I would see how the next week or so went and would then tell her if I still felt as worried as I did at the moment. I began to unpack my things slowly, hanging up my school uniform.

"Just do it tomorrow Ally" Alice said tiredly, already getting into bed.

"Yeah, plenty of time to do it in the morning" Fiona added yawning at the same time. I chucked the rest of my stuff down and went into the bathroom to do my teeth.

_You have got to get yourself together. People will know something's wrong if you keep acting like this. Tomorrow is a new day and a new start_ I told myself as I brushed my teeth. Yes. New day, new start.

I was determined to try and relax and so happily walked down to breakfast with Lily and Remus, striking up conversation with both of them and found myself a little bit more at ease as we sat down at the Gryffindor table and started eating. I looked round the Hall to see if anybody else was around but, by the lack of people here, figured it was still pretty early for most of my friends to be up.

The three of us continued to chat through breakfast and eventually people began to show up.

"Morning all" James said happily as he and Sirius joined us at last. Sirius said nothing but sent me a wink which, naturally, made me blush before helping himself to food.

"Looking forward to starting lessons again Evans?" James asked Lily personally. Lily just stared at him, unamused, before rising from the table.

"Lessons start in a bit. You coming?" she asked me, and I nodded before standing up to join her. Sirius looked slightly disappointed and James looked upset at Lily's reaction to his question. However, neither of them said anything as we started to make our way to transfiguration and I was very much looking forward to the distraction that lessons would provide.

**Remus's POV**

Something was wrong. I could tell and I'm pretty sure that everybody else knew as well.

"Did she say anything this morning?" James asked me, leaning across the table to reduce the chance of anybody hearing him. I shook my head and watched him frown. I turned to Sirius, watching him as he watched Ally walk out of the Great Hall with Lily. As she disappeared he turned back round and caught me looking. I shook my head and he carried on eating, not saying anything. I could tell that he was confused; it seemed like they were finally getting together and then something happens and Ally stops talking to him. We had tried to reassure him that really, she had stopped talking to everybody but I don't think it had done too much good.

James and Sirius had told me that Ally knew about how they were animagus and I had to admit that I was a bit worried. They had been true friends and not told her the reason why but it still put me on edge; surely it was only a matter of time before she discovered why?

"Moony, you coming?" I glanced up to see the two guys staring down at me.

"Sure, sorry. Head in the clouds" I told them, as we headed off to the first class of the day.

The day had dragged; Sirius wasn't in a very talkative mood and James had gone back to talking about Lily non-stop. Peter hadn't been around for some reason and I had no idea where he was. However, when I had tried to broach the subject with the others they had just shrugged. I was therefore glad when it was finally dinner and as we sat down at the Gryffindor table Sirius seemed to come alive.

"Well she doesn't look very happy with Baker" he said, and I could hear a slight growl in his voice as he said it. I turned to where he was looking and saw Ally sitting with Chloe, looking as if she would like to be anywhere but there. The rest of the girls were with her and I could see Lily keep throwing Ally worried glances.

"Padfoot don't say anything. You know her and Chloe are friends now. You don't want to upset her" I told him, and he looked at me like I was a lunatic.

"I still don't believe it that they're friends. No way. You know what Baker's like" Sirius told me, and there was a determination in his voice; one that I associated with him always wanting to be right. I shrugged, deciding that it would probably be best for me not to continue making him annoyed.

"Hi guys" a small voice came from my right and I looked up to see Peter standing there. He quickly took a seat and began piling food onto his plate.

"Where've you been all day Wormtail?" I asked him and I saw a dull flash of colour light his face.

"Oh uh, in the library, working" was all he said before he started eating. I frowned but didn't question it and instead turned my attention back to my own food.

"I'm going to talk to her tonight" Sirius said suddenly, and I looked up to see him look at me.

"Pad, I duno if that's a good idea. Maybe give her a bit of space" I told him, knowing that he was asking for my opinion.

"Why? What have I done?" he asked me, and I could see him trying to not look to upset or disappointed with the way things had turned out. I shrugged,

"I don't know. But obviously something's wrong so she needs a bit of time to sort it out. She doesn't need you charging in and complicating things" I said, trying to pick my words carefully. He frowned at me before shrugging and lapsed into silence once more.

"I'll try and talk to her for you mate" James told him, and Sirius sent him a grateful smile. Well that would be interesting.

**Lily's POV**

I was slightly worried about Ally. She hadn't seemed like herself for ages and I could see her trying to be normal today but she had sometimes failed and lapsed into silence often. There were several times today that she had started talking to me and I had had the feeling that she was trying to tell me something but then changed the direction of the conversation at the last minute. I don't know. Maybe I was being paranoid but I was determined to keep an eye on her for a while, just in case.

As our first day back drew to an end we sat ourselves around the fire in the front room.

"It's good to be back, don't you think?" Alice asked as she curled up in her seat. I nodded and yawned, already feeling tired from our busy day of school work.

"Yeah. I think I'm going to head to bed. Feeling pretty worn out" Ally told us as she began to get up. Looking at her closely, she did indeed look very tired; like she had had a bad night sleep.

"Fair enough. I think I'll be in bed in a bit as well" I told her with a smile, receiving a small one in return.

"See you in the morning" she said quietly and with that she literally disappeared. That was odd. Ally was usually very good at controlling herself when there were other people around but it seemed like she was too preoccupied to even give it a second thought.

"Is Ally around?" came a voice I recognised for all the wrong reasons.

"She's gone to bed" Fiona jumped in quickly, not allowing me to answer. I looked over and saw Fiona look sternly at me and Potter looking his usual annoying self.

"It's only eight o'clock" he said, looking questioningly at Fi. She said nothing but shrugged and Potter sighed before walking off. Good. I'm glad he's gone. Stupid, arrogant, big headed-

"Something's up. I just don't know what" Alice muttered, stopping my own personal rant.

"Maybe something happened at home?" Fi asked, looking at the both of us and I shrugged.

"If she wants us to know she'll tell us in her own time" I said and both the girls nodded in agreement.

**Ally's POV**

On reflection, the first few weeks back at school seemed to go okay. And by okay I mean that my secret seemed to be safe. As such, I had begun to relax a bit more and started to properly enjoy being back. However, the work load had noticeably increased and I spent a large portion of my time in the library with Will, Edward and Jacob. Dinner time was usually spent with the girls and then we used to just relax in the common room until bedtime. Chloe usually spent a considerable amount of time with us and I think that the others were gradually becoming accustomed to her presence and seemed to get on reasonably well with her which made me happy. One person who I was still unsure of how to act around was Sirius. After New Years and then everything that had happened afterwards meant I was unsure if he still liked me (if he even did in the first place…but I kind of guess he did because he kissed me…but then I guess he's kissed a lot of girls just for the sake of it…oh I don't know). As such, I tried to avoid being alone with him which I think he may have figured out.

"Ally? You there?" Edward whispered. I blinked, and looked around, bringing myself back to reality; sat in the library doing some work with the boys.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Lost in thought" I replied, keeping my voice low and sending him a smile.

"How's the work going?" he asked me, putting down his own quill and stretching. I looked down and realised I had stopped mid-sentence.

"Um yeah, fine" I lied, trying to remember what I was about to say.

"Definitely looks that way" Jacob chipped in, looking over at my parchment.

"Oh shush! I'm trying to remember what I was going to say" I told him with a frown, the rest of the sentence eluding me completely. They left me to it and after a couple of minutes of some serious thinking; the rest of my thought came back to me.

"Ready for dinner then?" Edward asked after I had frantically scribbled down my sentence. I nodded and we began to pack our things away and then made our way out of the library and down to dinner. As we reached the Great Hall I said my goodbyes to the guys and made my way down the table to where Fiona and Lizzy were sat with the Marauders.

"Nice of you to join us" Fiona greeted me as I sat down and started piling food onto my plate; I was absolutely starving.

"Get much done?" Lizzy asked and I nodded at her, not being able to respond as I had just started eating my chicken and mushroom pie. She just laughed at me as she turned her attention to the others.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. I think you've upset her. She didn't seem too happy earlier" Lizzy said. I looked up and swallowed my food.

"Who's upset who?" I asked, looking round at everybody.

"Nobody, nobody" James said quickly, looking suspicious. I turned to look at Lizzy.

"Sirius has upset Chloe" she informed me and I turned to look at the person in question.

"I didn't do anything" he said quickly; obviously lying.

"I think telling her to 'piss off as nobody likes her or wants her around' was always bound to upset her" Lizzy told him frowning. I sighed and shook my head, starting to shovel food in my mouth at top speed.

"What's the rush?" Sirius asked me and I didn't bother looking at him until I stood up.

"I've got some consoling to do it would seem" I said before I walked out of the Great Hall.

"I told you to not to get angry" I could hear Remus tell Sirius.

I made my way up to the Gryffindor Tower and had a quick look round the common room. It was pretty empty as most people were at dinner at this time but looking by the fireplace I could see an occupied chair. Moving closer I saw Chloe sitting by the fire looking very angry.

"Hiya" I greeted her, trying to keep my tone light as I flopped down on the sofa. She turned to look at me and her expression changed; she tried smiling but failed quite a bit.

"Hi" she said shortly, resuming her gaze of the fire. She didn't seem very talkative and I decided to cut straight to the point.

"I've heard about what Sirius said to you" I told her and she looked at me.

"Oh yeah? What have you heard?" she asked me, instantly very defensive. I was slightly taken a back; she had never been like this with me before.

"That he told you to, err, essentially go away because nobody wanted you around" I said, unsure of how to proceed. She sighed and nodded, confirming what I had said.

"You know what Sirius is like. You should just ignore him because –" I started saying but was cut off.

"Are you defending him?" she demanded, very angry.

"No, no. He shouldn't have said what he did at all. And you know it's not true. But I'm just saying that you should ignore him when he's being stupid" I said quickly, not wanting to anger her even further. She looked at me before she sighed and Chloe now just looked upset; her mood changes were scary.

"I'm sorry for getting so angry. It just upset me a bit is all" she said quietly, not looking at me.

"It's fine. And like I said, it's not at all true. We all like you and we like having you around" I said, smiling. She sighed again and looked at me, a small smile on her face.

"Thanks Ally" she replied. I gave her a big smile and settled down in my chair.

"So did you have a good day, beside that of course?" I asked her, determined to move conversation on and make her forget about what had happened.

Over the new few days Sirius continued to snap at Chloe for no apparent reason. I could see her getting slowly angrier every time and tried calming her down. This meant that I spent less time with the Marauders but I didn't care too much; they knew Chloe was my friend and I didn't understand why Sirius was being so out of order. Friday of our fourth week back rolled round at last and I was very glad that it was the weekend. We took a seat at dinner and everybody was relaxed and in high spirits, looking forward to the up and coming game of Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin the next day.

"Let's do something fun tonight! We've been too boring lately" Fiona moaned, finishing off her dinner.

"Yeah I agree. We need to let our hair down for a bit" Susan chipped in, looking excited at the prospect.

"Something fun I hear you say? Well, we know just the place" came James's voice, sounding unusually cocky.

"And why would we trust you?" Lily replied, her voice stone cold.

"Because it's somewhere you _all_ could go, instead of sneaking about in common rooms" he replied.

"Ooo where?" Fiona asked, looking excited.

"Well if you turned up at around 8 o'clock on the seventh floor by that big tapestry you might find out" he said, before he stalked off.

"We _have_ to go" Fiona said quickly, looking round at all of us.

"Why on earth would we do? You know that they're probably just going to pull a prank on us" Lily said dismissively.

"Oh they won't Lils. Come on. How good would it be if they've found somewhere and we don't have to sneak about in the Gryffindor common room like he said?" Alice asked her, obviously very keen for the idea.

"Yeah it will be fun. Come on Lily" Mandy agreed, giving Lily a big smile.

"Fun!" Lizzy exclaimed, consenting to the idea.

"Could be a good night you know" Susan told her, also giving Lily a smile.

"We should give them a chance" I added, also looking at Lily.

"I guess it might be alright" Chloe agreed, although she didn't seem too thrilled with the idea (although if Sirius was around I could probably see why). Lily looked round at all of us and sighed.

"Fine. Fine! But if it turns out badly it's not my fault at all" she said, holding her hands in the air in defeat.

"It will be great Lils! Right. Shall we go and sort ourselves out and then meet on the sixth floor and we'll walk up together at ten to eight?" Fiona asked, watching as everybody nodded their head in consent.

"Great! Come on guys, let's move!" she moaned at us and we all began to get our stuff and make our way up to the dormitory.

Fiona and Alice were extremely excited about tonight. However, on the other hand Lily and Chloe seemed very hesitant.

"Come on. You never know, you might enjoy yourself" I told them both, trying to cheer them up a bit as we made our way to the sixth floor to meet the rest of the girls.

Everybody was already there when we arrived; we had run late because Alice was taking her sweet time about changing.

"Right let's go!" Fiona said excitedly and everybody else happily followed, well, apart from Lily and Chloe that is; they trailed along at the back.

When we reached the seventh floor we walked along the corridor until we eventually found the Marauders lounging about, leaning against the wall.

"A bit late but we'll let you off" James said cheekily as we approached.

"Oh shut up. Now where are we going?" Fiona asked, and the boys exchanged mischievous looks.

"First question: do you trust us?" Remus asked as he looked round us all.

"Err" we all said at once, looking round at each other.

"I'll rephrase that question: do you trust me?" he asked us again, grinning.

"Yes" we all replied quickly, and we laughed; the rest of the Marauders did not look impressed.

"So you trust me that I won't do anything to hurt you or get you into trouble or anything like that?" he asked, making his point clearly. Fiona said 'yes' pretty quickly but the rest of us were more hesitant.

"Yeah, I guess" were most replies and he looked encouraged.

"Then you won't mind if we blindfold you?" he asked, his expression looking slightly doubtful.

"No way in hell are you blindfolding me" Lily exclaimed quickly, folding her arms and shaking her head. "No way". She seemed pretty definite.

"What if I personally blindfold and look after you?" Remus asked her, chucking her a huge smile. She faltered for a second, eyeing him up closely.

"Promise?" she asked him and he nodded. "Fine, I guess" Lily replied after a while, although she still didn't look to happy.

"How about the rest of you?" he asked and we all nodded; if Lily could go along with it then the rest of us seemed a bit more comforted. The boys then came round and blindfolded each of us, which produced a lot of noise and giggling.

"Right now you have to turn to your right, put your hand on the person in front's shoulder and follow them. We'll tell you when we hit the stairs" Remus explained and we started slowly shuffling forward in what must have been a very funny manner.

"I'm starting to regret this" I heard Lizzy mutter to me from behind.

"Tell me about it. Stairs?" I replied, keeping my voice low.

"Honestly. A little bit of trust goes a long way" came Sirius's voice from next to us and we both jumped. I really disliked being blindfolded.

We had climbed and descended several stairs before we stopped for a minute or so. We then heard a door open and we were, presumably, led inside. All of a sudden our blindfolds came off and we all squinted; our eyes taking some time to adjust to the light.

"Wow! Where are we? How did you find this?" came Fiona's voice.

"It's a secret obviously" James told her. I blinked rapidly and finally my eyes began to adjust and I took in the room. It wasn't huge, but it was enough that we would all comfortably fit in. There were huge sofas that looked ridiculously comfy, a fire burning brightly in the fireplace, and a long table filled with food and drink. Impressive. I glanced over to where Lily and Chloe were standing and I could see that they were slowly beginning to become more comfortable. We all started taking seats on the sofas, with the boys moving over for food first. I took a seat between Fiona and Lizzy and we all started happily chatting away, enjoying ourselves.

After an hour of idle chit chat the boys looked like they were getting bored.

"This is supposed to be fun" James moaned at us loudly.

"Alright then. Let's play a game" Alice replied, grinning in a way I didn't like.

"And what do you suggest?" Sirius asked her, looking intrigued.

"How about 'Truth or Dare'?" she replied and everybody nodded along and started sitting up in preparation.

"Alright but if you ask for truth you _have_ to tell the truth and if you ask for dare you _have _to do a dare. Agreed?" James asked, and we all nodded.

"Well then, seeing as everybody's in agreement, a quick charm to make sure this all happens won't hurt" he said happily, a cheeky grin on his face as he got out his wand and muttered underneath his breath as he made a few complicated wand moves, producing a haze around the room, which cleared after a few seconds.

"How did you learn something like that?" Lily asked, trying to sound uninterested and distant. Fiona looked at me and we exchanged a grin.

"I do actually work Lily. Despite what you might think" he told her, sending her a smile but she just scowled in return.

"Moving back on topic, seeing as you suggested the game Alice, you can start us off" Fiona said cheekily and Alice nodded. "Truth or dare" Fiona asked her and Alice thought for a moment.

"Truth" she said and Fiona looked around the room.

"Any takers?" she asked but nobody seemed to be too willing to be the first one.

"Fine. I'll ask an easy one. Alice, do you actually like Frank?" she asked her. Alice blushed deeply as she had never actually admitted outright that she liked him. Luckily for her, Frank wasn't here otherwise he would probably be the same colour as her now. She nodded her head and covered her mouth.

"I'm sorry Alice. What was that?" Fiona asked her tauntingly. Alice dropped her head and let her hand fall as we heard her distinctly say:

"Yes. I actually like Frank". Everybody laughed jovially,

"I knew it!" Peter exclaimed, seeming very pleased with himself.

"Keep up Wormtail" James said, although he couldn't keep a grin off his face.

"Frank will be so pleased to know" Sirius said and Alice scowled at him. Everybody laughed at Alice's reaction, making her seem a bit more annoyed.

"Anyway. Susan. Your turn" she said, trying to turn the attention away from herself.

"Ooo. I pick…DARE!" she exclaimed, seemingly very hyper.

"She's had a lot of sugar today" Mandy explained, making us laugh. The boys however weren't paying attention; their eyes had lit up as soon as she had said 'dare'.

"We dare you to walk into the Great Hall tomorrow morning, at half past eight, singing 'Tomorrow' from that muggle film 'Annie' at the top of your voice, and singing it all the way to the front of the room where you will the proceed to serenade the wonderful Professor Flitwick. Once you have finished, you can take a bow" James said, very quickly. We all burst out laughing and Susan smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

"You're on" she said cheekily.

"I can't wait for this!" Lizzy said excitedly, laughing at the thought of it.

"How on earth do you know that musical?" Lily asked, but her question went unanswered as everybody was too busy laughing at the prospect of Susan's dare.

"Right, Jamesie. Your turn. Truth or dare?" Sirius asked, looking at him with a huge grin on his face.

"Why Prongsie. I'm insulted you even have to ask. Obviously it will be a dare" he replied, a similar grin on his face. Sirius turned to Remus and Peter and they both nodded.

"We dare you to go up to Snivellus tomorrow morning and publicly apologise for everything you've every done to him and beg him to be your friend" Sirius said, watching as James's reaction become slowly more horrified.

"You're kidding me?" James asked, looking round at the boys as if they were joking.

"That's unnecessary" Lily interrupted, a frown on her face.

"Hey. He hasn't exactly been nice to you Evans" Sirius replied, watching her closely. Lily opened her mouth to argue but shut it again quickly.

"Fine. Fine. I'll do it. But I'll hate you all for at least a week" he replied, but couldn't help grinning at them.

"Right, Peter. I believe it's your turn" James said, turning to the boy sat beside him.

"Dare" he said happily, looking round at the rest of the boys.

"Right then. We dare you to go up to Maria Cavadino tomorrow at dinner time when the Hall is full and ask her out" Peter said, and everybody fell about laughing…except Peter who blanched at the thought of asking out the extremely popular, seventh year Ravenclaw.

"But, but" he stuttered but the Marauders shook their head.

"Come on Pete! You're a Marauder!" Remus told him, looking at him in wonderment. Peter's shoulders slumped and he sat in silence as the boys continued to laugh, obviously very pleased with themselves.

"Right Mandy, truth or dare?" Lily asked, giving Peter a small smile and taking the attention away from him. Mandy deliberated for a few moments before replying;

"Truth" she said, and the boys looked disappointed.

"What's your most embarrassing moment?" Alice asked, looking intrigued. Mandy thought for a moment before she blushed slightly.

"Well, I was out shopping with my mum and sister one day and a new shop had opened in the centre. So I got really excited and was rambling away in my usual fashion, not really paying attention to where I was going and slammed straight into the glass door. If that wasn't bad enough, I didn't realise it was a glass door and walked straight back into it the second time round. My mum and sister found it hilarious…as did the numerous other people in the shop and walking past" Mandy told us and we all laughed.

"That's not too bad to be fair" Susan told her between laughs and Mandy shrugged, smiling and blushing slightly at the memory.

"Chloe, truth or dare?" Mandy asked the girl sitting next to her. Chloe thought for a moment before answering;

"Truth" she said quietly.

"Has to be something good" Fiona muttered next to me, obviously deep in thought.

"Why are you actually here?" came Sirius's voice, very loudly from across the room. I turned to look at him, frowning. What kind of stupid, mean question was that?

"Padfoot" James warned him.

"I'm genuinely intrigued" Sirius told him, his voice icy.

"Shut up Sirius" Fiona snapped at him, not looking impressed at all.

"Because I've been invited" Chloe responded quietly, looking a little upset.

"You could have turned it down" Sirius replied. I didn't like this side of him, it was nasty and unnecessary.

"Well if you don't like her being here you can always leave" I found myself saying. A stunned silence met my words and I was actually shocked at myself.

"Why should I? These are my friends" he replied, looking at me in a way he had never done before.

"And Chloe is our friend" Fiona replied automatically and I flashed her a quick smile.

"But the question is; are you actually her friends?" Sirius countered, glaring at Chloe. "She's clearly up to something; she's not really your friend, why can't you see it?" he asked, slightly imploringly but the anger in his voice was still noticeable.

"Oh Black. Can't you see people want me here and want you to go?" Chloe told him, and a slightly menacing smile had crossed her face.

"Obviously we want him here Baker so you can back off" James chimed in at once, beginning to look annoyed.

"I think we should all calm down a bit" Alice said quietly, although James, Sirius and Chloe all still looked pretty angry. I felt very uncomfortable, knowing that I probably shouldn't have said anything.

"Why? And let him think he can swan about doing and saying whatever he likes to people?" Chloe spat, now radiating anger.

"Maybe we should leave" Mandy said, putting a hand on Chloe to try and calm her down.

"Coming from a fake liar like yourself!" Sirius exclaimed, seething.

"I'M the fake and the liar? I think you need to look a lot closer to home for that" Chloe retaliated, her eyes lit up in an angry manner. Sirius's expression turned to confusion, an image mirrored in most people's faces around the room.

"What are you on about Baker?" Sirius snapped. Chloe laughed, slightly maliciously and turned to look at me. My eyes widened and my heart almost stopped. She couldn't mean…

"Well Ally. I'll pick a truth for you. Question: have you been honest with everybody in this room about yourself? About who you are?" she asked me. My hands started to shake and I looked imploringly at her.

"Well, have you?" she demanded. I didn't know what to do. I looked round the room to see everybody looking at me with frowns on their faces. As I looked at Lily I saw her eyes widen and it was as if she clicked; she knew what had been wrong all this time.

"Shut up Chloe" Lily said forcefully, standing up and glaring at her. Chloe too stood up, an action mimicked by James and Sirius.

"Well seeing as we're playing truth or dare, it's an ideal question really" Chloe responded, her horrible, mocking tone returning.

"Chloe, please" I said quietly, my voice shaking.

"Baker, get out" James said, his voice indicating the seriousness etched onto his face.

"Ally hasn't answered the question yet" Chloe retorted, standing her ground.

"I think you should go" Lizzy said from beside me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move, I couldn't breath and my head was spinning. James started to move towards Chloe but she just moved forwards, standing in the centre of the circle.

"She's been lying to all of you and none of you have known" she spat, looking round at everybody viciously. Vaguely, I felt myself stand up.

"Please, Chloe. I trusted you" I whispered, begging her to stay quiet.

"Everybody should know. Especially dear old Sirius. He should know what he's getting himself into don't you think?" she snapped at me. I couldn't believe this. I looked over at Lily, desperate for some sort of help.

"Chloe I mean it. Get the hell out before I jinx you into oblivion" Lily growled, beginning to pull her wand out of her pocket.

"She's a freak. All that stuff she told you, it's true. But she didn't tell you everything. No. She knows she doesn't belong her. With you all. Literally. She's fifteen. Yes. Fifteen! She should be in my year and instead, she's been bumped up with all of you!" Chloe ranted and I felt like I was going to faint. I looked round at the shocked faces of my friends, none of them quite believing what they were hearing.

"Not only that but she transforms. Her ridiculous, stupid, pathetic abilities extend to her shifting into an animal. A _nocturnal_ animal" she continued spitefully, and I felt the tears pour down my face as all of my secrets and essentially my whole life was laid out for everybody to see and judge.

"And her so called family? Not her actually family. That's all a lie too" Chloe rounded off. Every face was directed towards me, every face filled with shock at the revelations that had just occurred. Lily moved over towards me but I backed away and did the only thing I felt I could; I ran.


	23. From Bad To Worse

**A/N:****Another****chapter****complete.****Thanks****again****for****those****who****reviewed.****Hope****you****enjoy****it**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Lizzy's POV**

Before any of us could respond, or follow Ally or even fully digest what had just happened Chloe spoke again;

"I told you Sirius. You humiliate me and I will get back at you. And I just did" she said, sounding extremely pleased with herself and then exited the room. Everybody was still and as I glanced round the room I could see Lily's face filled with worry.

"Was all of that true?" Fiona asked quietly, looking up at Lily. The latter sighed and glanced around at everybody before nodding her head.

"Professor Dumbledore told my before she arrived. He thought it would be a good idea if somebody knew so that she had somebody to look out for her and to be there for her if she needed it" she told us all. There was a small silence where we all tried to comprehend everything. Ally was only fifteen. No way. She couldn't be. She was smarter than nearly all of us! And all this animal, shifting business! Why hadn't she told us? But I already knew the answer to my question; because of this reaction. She wouldn't have wanted to feel like the freak; left out, like she didn't belong. But she was so wrong. We had all gotten to know her as just Ally. Nothing more or less. We knew what she was really like and we all loved her to pieces for it. Nothing could change that, or ever would.

"We need to find her" I said getting up at once, determination in my voice. But Lily shook her head.

"No. I think the first thing we need to do is get Luke" she replied, looking at Susan and Mandy.

"Why?" Susan asked, getting up nonetheless.

"Because Luke is the closest person to Ally here. He knows everything about her and the one person she will really want to go to is him. He needs to know what's happened" Lily explained, and I could see the reasoning behind it. Mandy and Suze both nodded and made their way over to the door.

"We'll bring him here" they said and they both left hurriedly. Lily sighed and flopped down on the sofa and I followed her lead. However, James and Sirius were both still standing, the shock obvious in their faces.

"Why didn't she just tell us?" James muttered, looking round at us all.

"How would you feel if you were different to everybody else? Ally obviously felt like if she told us then we would immediately judge her and she wouldn't fit in and as if she could never be one of us. She just wanted to be normal and accepted" Remus rounded of quietly and I looked at him stunned; that was exactly what I had been thinking. Sirius sighed and sat back down still looking shocked and James eventually followed his actions.

"We just need to show her that we don't care about any of this" Remus continued to say, looking at us all and Lily nodded along with him.

"Because we don't do we?" she asked us all, frowning.

"Of course not!" Fiona exclaimed, looking shocked that Lily had even asked.

"We're still her friends!" James chipped in, looking up at Lily with a frown, mimicking Fiona's expression. We all lapsed into silence and stayed that way until Susan and Mandy came back accompanied with Luke.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded as soon as he walked in and looked round at all of us, folding his arms; his face a mixture of emotions.

"We all know about Ally" Lily told him and his eyes snapped over to where she was sat.

"What do you mean?" he asked warily, glancing round the room.

"We know about everything; her age, the shifting, all of it" Lily continued and Luke's eyes widened.

"Well where is she? She obviously feels comfortable with you all if she told you, so what's the problem?" he asked frowning, obviously confused.

"Ally didn't tell us. She told Chloe a while back and now Chloe's just announced it to everybody, without Ally being okay with it" Lily said slowly and I watched as Luke's expression turned from confusion to pure anger.

"Where is she?" he demanded but Lily just shrugged.

"She left as soon as Chloe had finished telling us all her secret" Lily told him, and I could hear the anger in her voice. I looked back at Luke and could see his own anger practically radiating off of him. Lily walked over to him and carefully placed a hand on his arm; a gesture obviously meant to try and calm him down.

"You need to go and check the dormitory now. I highly doubt she'll be there; I know her too well. If she doesn't want to be found you'll have a hard time finding her" Luke replied, beginning to look anxious. "I need to send an owl. Go and search Gryffindor and let me know what happens" he continued and with that he departed.

"I just can't believe it. Luke's right. We need to go now" Alice said, standing up immediately.

"If I see Baker…" Sirius growled as he stood up but Remus shook his head frantically.

"Sirius this is not the time. This is about Ally. Forget Baker for now. Ally needs us" Remus told him and Sirius shut his eyes momentarily before opening them again, seemingly calming himself slightly.

"Let us know too" I told the others and Susan and Mandy nodded along with me.

"We will do Liz. Don't worry" Fiona reassured me and we all got up and made our way to try and find and reassure Ally.

**Lily's POV**

I woke up at the much earlier time of 6 o'clock and immediately looked over at Ally's bed; still empty. I sighed and felt the worry fill up in me again. Last night's search had been unsuccessful. Ally was not in the common room or in the dormitory as Luke had predicted. What's more, the Marauders had seemed unusually quiet and were whispering among themselves in a very concerned fashion. I sighed and rolled over in bed.

"Lils I can't believe it. I'm so worried. Where is she?" came Alice's voice and I sat up to look over at her huddled up in bed looking anxious.

"I don't know Alice" I told her. It was then that Fiona sat up in bed, looking anxious too.

"Maybe she'll be at breakfast early? Shall we go down just in case?" she asked and I nodded.

"It's worth a try" I said and we all got up and started shuffling about the room.

It didn't take us long and we were soon down in the Great Hall and as we looked around, I felt disappoint wash over me. In truth, I hadn't really expected her to be here but there was still a tiny part of me that hoped she would be.

We all sat down in silence, glancing round the room frequently, just in case she turned up.

Gradually, the place began to fill up as breakfast had arrived now. We all picked at our food, not feeling really very hungry. As I look up at the door I saw Luke arrive and hurry towards us.

"Have you spoken to her?" I asked at once, Alice and Fiona both looking up as he arrived. He hesitated before responding:

"I sent her a letter but she hasn't replied" he told us quietly. Before any of us could reply, Lizzy, Susan and Mandy came dashing over to us.

"Any luck?" the asked, taking a seat at the table. Alice shook her head and they sighed, looking disappointed. I made the others budge up so that Luke could sit down but he shook his head.

"I need to look for her. If you see her today just go carefully, she's going to be pretty fragile at the moment" Luke said before he tried giving me a weak smile and then leaving.

"Baker's just royally screwed everything up" Susan said with a growl. I could see Fiona about to reply before she was interrupted.

"What's going on? Where's Ally? Is she alright? We've heard about what happened". I looked up to see Edward, Jacob and Will looking at us anxiously.

"How has it got round this fast?" Mandy exclaimed and Lizzy shrugged.

"Did you actually expect Baker to keep this quiet?" I asked her and she shook her head in disbelief.

"We just can't believe it. It's insane" Jacob muttered and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"She just needs a bit of space for now. Anyway, you guys need to concentrate on your Quidditch today" Fiona told them and they looked up, surprised.

"Yeah you're right. I almost forgot about that. Dam. Need a match mentality" Edward said, throwing a sharp look at Jacob who nodded.

"Let us know when she turns up" Edward told us and Fiona nodded in agreement as they began to make their way over to the rest of the Hufflepuff team.

"Mind if I join you?" Will asked, still standing there. Despite themselves, Susan, Mandy and Fiona all looked extremely overjoyed by this and happily began moving up so that Will could sit down. I stared at them but they just shrugged, trying to keep a smile off of their face.

"So what exactly have you heard?" I asked Will as he took a seat between me and Fiona.

"That Ally is actually fifteen and all about this shifting thing" he said, looking up at me with a frown. "Is it actually all true?" he asked me and I nodded. "Fifteen? Merlin, she puts us all to shame with her magic, aye?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. It worked; we all smiled and nodded.

"That's what I kept thinking! It's just amazing" Alice said, sounding impressed. It was at this point that the Marauders turned up, whispering among themselves. I rolled my eyes but kept myself from saying anything; despite what I might like, Ally was friends with them and I guess they might actually be worried about her as well.

"Heard anything?" Remus asked me as I sat down, casting a curious glance over at Will who seemed to look a little uncomfortable at the arrival of the boys. I shook my head and he frowned, lapsing into silence.

"She didn't come to bed last night?" Potter asked, looking up at me. He actually looked genuinely worried and I shook my head, slightly surprised. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling and then across towards the Hufflepuff table. "This isn't so good" he muttered, and I couldn't help but agree with him.

**James' POV**

Everybody seemed quiet at breakfast, despite the air of excitement that came with the morning before a Quidditch match.

"I've completely forgotten my coat. I'll grab it and meet you guys in the entrance hall okay?" I heard Lily say, and I turned my attention to her but she didn't even glance in my direction.

"Prongs you should tell her now" Moony whispered from beside and I nodded. I jumped up and caught up with Lily, taking a deep breath.

"Lily can I talk to you for a second?" I asked, and she spun round to glare at me.

"No I'm busy, sorry Potter" she replied icily, turning and walking away. I followed her and tried again.

"Please Lily. It's about Ally. I know where she is" I said and I watched as she froze and spun round to look at me. Despite how much she claimed to hate me, none of this was apparent in her expression right now.

"How do you know?" she asked me, now beginning to look suspicious.

"I just do. Listen, she's on the third floor in a disused classroom right next to Charms. I would go but I think she needs you, you knew everything about her and she'll probably feel more comfortable if you go to her" I said, repeating what Moony had told me to say. Lily stared at me, in what I would like to think of as amazement.

"Err, thanks Potter" she replied, and with one last weird look at me she dashed out of the Hall. I stood and watched her go for a moment before turning and making my way back to the guys.

"Did you just have a civil conversation with Evans?" Sirius asked, looking at me slightly bemused. I looked at him and then felt the smile spread across my face,

"Why Padfoot old chap, I do believe I did" I replied with a grin, now beginning to fully appreciate my food.

**Lily's POV**

I literally ran up the stairs, along the third corridor and stopped outside the door that Ally was apparently in. My hand hovered over the handle for a fraction of a second, taking a deep breath, before I slowly opened the door.

"Ally?" I questioned, looking round the room before I finally saw her sitting at the back of the room at one of the desks, apparently working. She didn't look up from what she was doing and so I moved over to her, taking a seat next to her. I peeked at the work she had in front of her and saw our Ancient Runes translation homework.

"Looks like it's not going too badly" I told her with a smile. She paused, but didn't look at me. "We've all been worried about you, you know. Alice and Fiona were even up at six!" I told her, still not getting any sort of response. "Nobody cares about what Chloe said you know. We all still want to be your friend" I told her quietly but she shook her head.

"I just can't believe she told everybody" Ally said quietly, her voice hoarse. She looked up at me and I tried not to look too shocked; she didn't look great at all. It looked she had been up all night, but that wasn't the worst bit; it was the colour of her eyes. They were a dull, empty, dark blue, completely devoid of life. "I trusted her you know" she continued, looking away from me and back down at her work.

"I know. But you can trust us still. Like I said, we don't care about any of it, it doesn't matter to us how old you are or anything" I told her earnestly. She said nothing, continuing to stare at her work.

"Ally, please" I asked her, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"I really need to get on with this Lily" she replied, not looking at me. There it was, that one sentence told me everything; she was shutting me out.

"Please at least talk to Luke. He's going out of his mind" I told her and I watched as her quill paused in mid-air. "He just needs to know you're okay" I finished. Her quill returned to her parchment and she continued to write her translations. I sighed and slowly got up, knowing that there wasn't much else I could do without her talking to me. I got up and walked over to the door and as I hesitated by the door I heard her quill pause briefly.

"Lily?" I heard her call me and I spun round instantly. "Please don't tell anyone where I am" she said quietly, giving me one last pleading look before shaking her head and returning to her work.

"Sure thing Ally" I replied quietly, leaving the room. I walked down the corridor but stopped when I got to the stairs, leaning against the wall. As I stood there thinking, I noticed that I wasn't alone.

"How did it go Evans?" Potter asked, sitting on the stairs just in front of me, a frown on his face. I was surprised to see him here, he had obviously followed me. I shrugged and sat down on a step, at the other end of where he was.

"Not good. She's shut me out" I told him, surprising myself further by actually being civil. "She told me not to tell anybody where she was" I continued, and I heard him sigh.

"I guess there's not much that we can do then" he said quietly and looked up at me. I shook my head and made to stand up. "Coming to the game?" he asked as he offered me a hand up. Shockingly I took it and could see the happiness in his face at this. Once I was up I rapidly took my hand back,

"I need to get my coat Potter" I replied, glaring at him before making my way up the stairs leaving him standing there.

A week had passed since the incident and Ally was as distant as ever. She came to lessons; arriving just before they were about to start and leaving as soon as they were over, not allowing us a chance to speak to her. She rarely appeared at meal times and when she did she sat with Luke, away from everybody else. When it came to sleeping, she came to bed late and woke up ridiculously early, again avoiding us all. We had tried talking to her, especially as we usually sat next to her but whenever we tried she just shook her head and put her head low to her parchment, scribbling away furiously. Close up Ally looked terrible; sleep deprived and the dark blue colour of her eyes never seemed to change.

On the Friday, exactly a week after the incident had occurred I was on my way back from the library, head in the clouds when I walked straight into somebody.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, looking at who I had bumped into. It was Ally.

"Oh it's fine, fine" she muttered, picking up the books she had been carrying. I gave her a hand, giving back some of the books I had made her drop.

"Ally don't just run off, please. I'm so worried about you" I said, putting my hand on her arm so that she wouldn't dash off. She sighed and looked up at me, looking so tired and down. "I'm on my way to the common room to see Alice and Fiona. Why don't you come with me? Just the four of us, nobody else. There's some sort of party going on but we weren't feeling up to it so the common room will be relatively empty. Come on" I coaxed her and I thought I saw a glimmer of hope as she frowned at me, not shaking her head straight away. "You don't have to say anything or do anything. Just sit and relax with us. You look like you could do with a break" I told her with a smile and she sighed and nodded her head. I beamed at her, "Great. Come on then" I said and she fell into step beside me, as we silently made our way through the deserted corridors.

"How's your Ancient Runes essay going?" I asked her after a while.

"Yeah it's alright. Going slower than I would like" she replied, her voice quiet and hoarse.

"Yeah I've seemed to hit a bit of a brick wall with mine. Need to really just sit down and concentrate more fully on it" I rambled, trying to keep things normal and flowing. "Doesn't help that we have that huge potions assignment on top of it as well. That's proving tricky, going to need to do a lot of research for that" I continued and glanced over to see Ally just nodding along, keeping her head down. We eventually reached the common room and as I had predicted, it was very empty; most people having already disappeared to the Hufflepuff party. Ally hesitated by the door for a moment, and I guessed that she wasn't so sure about her decision to join us. I gave her a smile and she looked at me, and I could see the worry in her eyes.

"It'll be fine Ally" I said reassuringly. She still seemed anxious but as I moved over to the fireplace where Fiona and Alice were sat I saw her slowly follow me.

"Hey guys" I greeted the others, who looked up at my arrival. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat down on the sofa, leaving the armchair for Ally.

"Oh hey Lils, we were wondering where you-"

"Ally!" Alice exclaimed, cutting over Fiona. She looked over at me and I quickly shook my head, giving her a stern look. I think she knew what I meant as she frowned and then nodded.

"Um hi" she said hesitantly, sitting down in the arm chair, not looking directly at us. Fiona and Alice exchanged a look and I really hoped that they would act completely normal, well, as normal as they could.

"How are you two?" Fiona asked, and I flashed her a grateful smile.

"Okay thanks. Glad we're not going to this party, I really can't be bothered with it" I replied, frowning slightly. At my words, Ally looked up at me, a frown on her face. However, she didn't say anything and after a second or two returned her gaze to the fire.

"Why not?" Alice asked, ignoring what had just happened with Ally. I sighed and shrugged.

"Luke?" Ally asked me, actually contributing to the conversation. Fiona frowned and looked at the two of us.

"What makes you ask that?" she asked Ally, who shrugged.

"He's been a bit weird lately" was all she said, looking over at me. I nodded in agreement, thinking about the little time we had spent together lately.

"Are you avoiding him Lils?" Alice asked me softly and again I nodded, not saying anything as I didn't trust my voice right now.

"Has something happened?" Fiona asked me. I shrugged and cleared my throat,

"I don't know. He's just been really off lately. Maybe it's just me being paranoid. I don't know" I said, knowing that I was probably confusing the others as well as myself.

"Just talk to him" Alice told me with a smile.

"Yeah I guess" I replied, staring into the fire and thinking about what I would say to him.

"Oh, Ally. You'll never guess what happened the other day" Fiona said quickly, looking over at her and grinning. Ally slowly turned round to look at Fiona, her expression neutral.

"Susan was just walking into the Ravenclaw common room the other night and Will saw her come in and beckoned her over. Susan got so excited that she dashed over, caught her foot on the edge of a rug and went flying, ending up in a crumpled heap by his feet" Fiona told her. Me, Alice and Fiona all laughed and I watched Ally closely, seeing the smile that she couldn't quite stop from appearing on her face. The difference it made to her face was amazing, despite the still dark colour of her eyes. It started to make her look like her normal self again.

"Will should know the effect he has on girls" she replied, her voice still very quiet. Her small smile was still in place however, which was always a good thing.

"You'd think he would by now. Oh well, boys aye?" I said and the other two laughed, Ally merely smiled.

We spent the next couple of hours just idly talking about nothing in particular. Ally stayed relatively quiet, not giving much input into the conversations but the fact that she was even here was more than enough. Around nine o'clock I could see her yawning and then she began to get up.

"I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow" she told us, flashing us a quick smile before she made her way up to the dormitory at a relatively normal pace. As soon as she was well out of hearing range I turned to the other girls.

"She looks absolutely awful" Alice said, looking worriedly round at me and Fi.

"I know. But maybe after tonight she'll start coming to bed at a relatively normal hour and then getting up at one too" I said and the other two agreed with me.

"How did you manage to get her here anyway?" Fiona asked me, looking curious.

"I bumped into her in the corridor on my way back to the library and told her that nobody would be here except us and she seemed a little hesitant at first but then she agreed to come along" I said, feeling very proud of myself.

"Hopefully we'll start to get out Ally back now" Fiona said, but I wasn't so sure it was going to be that easy.

**James's POV **

Nobody had seen Ally in ages. It was actually quite worrying. However, there was one very good thing that had come out of all of this; Lily had spoken to me in a civilised manner _and_ had even taken my hand. I know I should be worrying about my friend, and I truly was but I just couldn't help but grin at the memory. Sirius was getting annoyed at me, but I think that's just because he was taking his frustration over the Ally situation out on me.

"Morning Padfoot old buddy old chap" I greeted him as he yawned and pulled a hand through his messy, wet hair.

"Why are you so happy at this time in the morning" he asked with a grumble. I just don't think he appreciated me waking him up with water this morning is all.

"I have decided that today will be a good day" I told him, getting out of bed and beginning to find some clean clothes.

"Whatever" he replied, not sounding too thrilled and making his way over to the bathroom so that he could shower.

Ten minutes later and we were making our way down for breakfast. It was pretty busy, probably because it was half nine now and most people were up at this time. As we made our way over to our usual seats at the table I stopped in shock. Sirius, having paid no attention to anything carried on walking and didn't realise until he was a good three metres away. He looked back and frowned at me, shaking his head before taking a seat at the table. I hurried over to him and sat down, trying hard not to stare down the table.

"What's up?" he asked, already seemingly in a better mood now that he had had a mouthful of breakfast.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice" I told him, raising my eyebrows. He looked at me in complete confusion and I nodded my head at him to look down the table. Frowning now, he followed my gaze down the table.

"Oh" was all he replied. 'Oh' would be just about right. Ally was sat with the girls.

"Stop staring at her. Jeez. Normality remember?" I told him and he shook his head and turned his attention back to his food.

"She doesn't look so great does she?" I asked him, glancing over every now and again. I shouldn't really have said this as this just gave Sirius an excuse to stare again. After a while he turned back to me, another frown on his face.

"Not really" he muttered, looking down at his food. A couple of seconds later, the morning post arrived; hundreds of owls swooping down and bringing people letters and parcels from home and the Daily Prophet. Surprisingly, Pegasus landed with a soft thud on the table in front of me. I hadn't sent any letters and so was surprised to find him here. But then I guessed that he had just gone home (he pretty much loved mum). I reached for the letter and found a daily prophet attached as well. Looking at the letter I saw that it was addressed to both me and Sirius.

"Mum and dad have written to us" I told him, and saw my own confusion mirrored in his face as he looked up at me. This never happened. I quickly tore open the letter and scanned it through, worry filling my body. I flung the letter at Sirius before unfolding the Daily Prophet and as I took in the headline, I began to feel a little sick.

"Let me see" Sirius demanded and I passed him the paper, anger welling up inside me. It was starting. There had been a huge attack on both muggles and wizards by the so-called 'Death Eaters'; Voldemorts followers. Apparently it had happened last night in Surrey and was unprovoked. Fifteen people killed; men, women and even children. Fifteen innocent lives lost. Across the table I heard Sirius growl and looked up to see him looking extremely angry.

"And to think my 'family' support this…this violence" he said, slamming his fist down on the table. Sirius rarely got this angry and I saw him glance over at the Slytherin table; a table occupied by his brother.

"Let's go see the girls. Make sure they're alright" I said to Sirius and he nodded. We both made our way down the table, everybody around us looking worried and scared. As we approached they all looked up and my eyes found Lily's burning green ones, a mixture of emotions rushing round in them. She didn't hold my gaze for long and instead turned her attention back to the Prophet. I took a seat next to Fiona who looked pale, Sirius sitting opposite me and, coincidently, next to Ally.

"Have you heard from your mum and dad?" Fiona asked me at once, and I could hear how scared she was.

"Yes they're fine. They managed to catch a few of them but they largely disappeared as soon as the Aurors showed up" I told her, putting an arm round her shoulders to reassure her and giving her a gentle squeeze. I glanced across at Lily again and saw her eyes light up slightly as she looked past me. Di Piesto came hurrying over and quickly sat himself down between Lily and Ally, kissing the former on the cheek. I looked away, a horrible feeling pulling at my heart as he did so.

"Merlin, I just can't believe it. Are you alright?" he asked, looking between Ally and Lily, throwing a reassuring arm round them both.

"I'm just shocked. It's so horrible" Lily said quietly, and I couldn't help but look at her. I wanted to be the one reassuring her, telling her that I would never let anything or anyone hurt her. However, my thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Remus and Peter who both looked confused.

"What the hell is going on? Somebody said something about an attack and we've just seen Lizzy fly past us looking distraught" Moony said quickly, looking at me and Padfoot for answers. In reply, Sirius chucked him the Prophet and him and Pete quickly scanned it; Remus's eyes narrowing the more he read and Peter just looked more and more scared.

"This is insane" Remus muttered, putting down the paper and looking round at everybody. I nodded, glancing over at Ally who had stayed silent this whole time. As I watched, Luke started whispering to her quite quickly in French and Ally frowned, nodding.

"I've got to go. I'll see you later" she said quietly, surprising me with the roughness of her voice; it wasn't the soft voice I had known before. She quickly got up and left, her head down as she moved rapidly through the Hall. Sirius didn't seem to notice, he was still glaring at the Slytherin table, his hand curled into a fist on the table.

"Er, shall we go up to the common room?" I suggested, thinking that it was probably a good idea to remove Sirius from the Great Hall where it was looking quite likely that he was going to take his frustration out on many Slytherins any time now. Everybody nodded, probably a bit too shocked to speak right now. We all stood and slowly made our way out of the Hall and away from the whispers and worry that was sweeping over the main student population. I glanced back at the staff table to see them all talking extremely seriously, and, in the middle, Professor Dumbledore staring up at the ceiling with a frown, obviously deep in thought.

The common room was deserted as most people were still at breakfast. The girls were quiet, and Remus was muttering to Sirius; probably trying to calm him down a bit. I was surprised that Lily had come with us and hadn't stuck with Luke. She seemed deep in thought and I was going to talk to her but thought it would probably just annoy her. We sat around the fire in relative silence, all slightly shocked at what we had found out.

"I just can't believe it. What gives him the right to go around killing innocent people?" Lily exclaimed, quite violently.

"He doesn't have the right" Remus replied, his voice low in a clear attempt to try and calm Lily down.

"I hate just sitting here, watching our world just fall apart at the hands of one person" she said and I stared at her. She couldn't be saying what I thought she was… "People like me being persecuted because of their blood" she continued, shaking her head, her eyes blazing. Nobody said anything, everybody apparently lost in their own thoughts.

After a couple of minutes the portrait opened and Ally walked in. However, she either didn't see us or didn't want to see us and she made her way straight over to the dormitory.

"Ally" Lily called out and she stopped, hesitating slightly before turning round.

"I've got some stuff to do" was all she said and she disappeared quickly up the stairs.

"I think you were right Lils" I heard Alice mutter to her and Lily nodded frowning.

The day passed horribly slowly. Nobody really seemed in the mood to do anything (well apart from Lily that is who disappeared to the library to do some work after lunch) and so we just sat about in the common room most of the day. Padfoot was quiet and seemed to have a permanent frown on his face today. I didn't want to provoke him into anger and so left him to his thoughts, thinking that I would maybe say something when he went to bed later. After dinner we trundled back up to the common room and resumed our seats round the fire place.

"The atmosphere around here has changed so much" Fiona remarked as she sat and watched as me and Remus set up a game of chess.

"This is just the beginning you know" I told her and watched her sigh. She didn't say anything else, seeming more interested in my up and coming battle with Remus.

Sirius had disappeared after dinner and I didn't have a clue where he had gone, presumably to try and calm himself down.

**Sirius's POV**

I needed to get away from the mutterings and whisperings that had occupied the castle throughout the day. After dinner I wandered about, not quite knowing where I was going but glad to be on my own with my thoughts. After a while, I looked up to see that I was actually on my way to the astronomy tower. I was surprised, as I rarely came up here but figured that there would nobody about at this time and this could only be a good thing. However, I was soon proved wrong as, when I got up to the very top, I saw somebody standing by the window. I stopped and to my surprise, Ally turned around.

"Oh. Um, I was just going" she said, seemingly startled by me appearance. She made to move but I shook my head,

"No it's fine you don't have to go" I told her and she stopped and looked a little uncertain. I moved over to where she was standing and looked out of the window, over the grounds. She stood still for a couple of seconds before she moved over to where I was, standing a little away from me by the window.

"You alright?" I asked, not looking at her. Out the corner of my eye I saw her shrug but she didn't directly respond to my question.

"You?" she asked, and I felt that she was only asking to be polite. I shrugged as well,

"Yeah, I guess. Just a bit…you know about what's happened" I said, not quite explaining. I looked over at her and saw her frowning, her eyes still dark and empty. "Are you alright about what's happened?" I asked her. Now that I thought about it she was alone over here; the rest of her family in France, away from what was happening here.

"It's just a bit of a shock. Makes everything seem more real" she told me, and I could hear a glimmer of worry in her voice. This only seemed to stir in more anger within me.

"Um, Sirius? I think you might damage your hand in a minute" I heard Ally say quietly, and looked down to see that I was gripping the window sill so tightly that my whole hand had gone white. I relaxed my grip and took a deep breath out.

"Sorry. It' just, well, it's hard to explain" I said, trying to take better control of my emotions. Ally didn't say anything but I saw a trace of concern in her expression.

"My…family, support what's going on" I said through gritted teeth. A flicker of surprise shot through her face. "All of them. Especially my parents" I said, remembering back to how it used to be when I lived at home. "I hate them" I muttered.

"Don't say that" Ally responded, her voice sharp. I frowned at her.

"Why not? I do. I'm glad that I'm not around them any more" I said forcefully.

"They're you're parents. How can you hate them?" she asked, her voice rising slightly and she actually looked a bit angry.

"Pretty easily" I replied casually but this only seemed to anger her further.

"Sirius, they brought you up and love you" she replied, looking at me like I was stupid. This annoyed me.

"No they don't. They don't give a dam. And I don't give a dam about them!" I told her, getting a bit worked up.

"Stop it. You can't talk about them like that!" she exclaimed, sounding frustrated.

"I can talk about them however I like. You don't know what you're talking about. You're fine, with your perfect little family" I responded, anger radiating from me. However, as I said this a look of utter shock flicked across her face; a shock enough to change her eyes to a bright, electric blue.

"My family? I think it's you who doesn't have a clue, Black. Weren't you listening to what Chloe said? THEY'RE NOT MY FAMILY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT? I DON'T HAVE A FAMILY. MY PARENTS ARE DEAD. BUT SURE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHATEVER" she yelled at me. She was glowing; a bright, shining light surrounding her whole body. I felt my face drop, as the shock of what she said hit me.

"Ally I-" I began to say moving towards her but she put her hand out to stop me from coming any closer and she magically pushed me all the way across the room.

"Forget it" she said and as she ran from the room, the window of the tower burst open letting the cold winter air wash over me as I was left standing there, in complete shock once again.


	24. Realisations

**A/N: Many apologies for the serious lack of update. Once again, thank you to all those who have taken their time to review this story, it only encourages me to write more (albeit much more slowly). This chapter is quite short but I hope you all still enjoy it anyway. Will promise to try and update a bit sooner! Enjoy :)**

James's POV****

I was just brushing my teeth when I heard the door get thrown open and somebody stomped in. I went to glance around the door and saw a very angry Sirius punch his bed.

"What's up?" I asked him through a mouth full of toothpaste. He glanced up at me, seemingly surprised that I was there. He shook his head and groaned, taking a seat on his bed and putting his head in his hands.

"I've buggered it up big time" he muttered and I frowned, coming out of the bathroom and walking over to where he was sat.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused as to what he was talking about.

"I went up to the astronomy tower and Ally was up there" he started and I had no idea where this was going. "We were talking about what had happened today, you know with the attacks and all and then I got talking about my family. You know what I'm like" he continued, looking up at me at the last bit and I nodded, frown still in place. "Well I told her how much I hated them and how she had no idea what was going on and then she told me…" here he paused seeming to struggle with the next sentence. "She told me…" he didn't seem to be able to say what Ally had apparently said.

"She told you..?" I prompted him, moving a bit closer. Sirius sighed and looked up at me,

"She told me her parents are…well…she doesn't have any. They died" he managed to finally get out. I gaped at him, forgetting I had a mouth full of toothpaste which now fell out of my mouth and onto my t-shirt.

"Shit" was all I managed to get out as I tried to remove the toothpaste. Sirius ran his hands through his hair.

"You're telling me. I didn't know what to do after that. She yelled it out at me as well. She seemed so angry; she pushed me half way across the tower without using her wand and after she slammed the door the window burst open as well. I mean jeez. If that doesn't spell out pissed I don't know what does" he told me and I stopped mopping my t-shirt in surprise.

"Without using her wand?" I asked him curiously. He nodded but said nothing more as he muttered to himself.

"I can't believe it Prongs. She's not going to want to speak to me ever again. I've really buggered it up. What do I do?" he asked me, and I could hear the desperation in his voice. However, before I could respond Remus strolled in whistling. He stopped short on seeing me and Sirius though.

"Er James mate, kinda missed your mouth there" he said, pointing at my t-shirt with a grin. I shook my head as I carried on trying to wipe it off; I really liked this top.

"What have I missed?" he asked, obviously confused by Sirius's mutterings. I quickly told him what had happened and by the end his reaction was exactly the same as mine.

"Shit Padfoot". Sirius groaned at this reaction and lay down on his bed.

"You're telling me" he muttered, staring at the ceiling. "But it's alright. I've buggered it up truly so what's the point trying anymore?" he said, and I think he was talking aloud.

"What do you mean?" Moony asked, frowning in obvious confusion. However, Sirius didn't seem to be listening.

"No point at all. Time to change. Old me needs to come back. Yeah, that's it. That'll help. Definitely" he muttered and it was weird how he was talking to himself. Remus glanced at me and I shrugged at him. Sirius was hard to reason with at the best of times.

"Pad. You can't just leave it. You'll look like a right twat if you do" I told him, none too bluntly. He shrugged.

"I look like a twat at the moment to her anyway. Won't make a jot of difference. Everybody's been saying how weird I've been lately. I need to get back to usual" he told us and with that he got off the bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"This can only go well" I commented sarcastically to Remus who just sighed and shrugged as he moved over to his own bed. Well, this would be interesting.

**Lily's POV**

I didn't hear Ally come in last night which wasn't a good sign and when I woke up in the morning she wasn't there either. I sighed as I headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day, hoping that I would see her at breakfast.

As me and Remus entered the Great Hall I was happy to note that Ally was in fact already there.

"Morning" I greeted her happily and she looked up, startled to see us both there. She didn't look great; it looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. She attempted a smile but said nothing as she resumed her stare at her breakfast. Remus seemed to think about things for a moment before taking a seat next to Ally. She seemed slightly surprised by this action but he said nothing, merely smiling and pulling some food towards him.

"You okay?" I asked Ally quietly. She paused for a moment before shrugging.

"Had a bit of an argument with Sirius last night" she said quietly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Remus freeze mid action.

"Oh?" was all I said, not wanting to force her into saying anything she didn't want to. She nodded.

"Ended up with me sort of telling him about my parents" she finished off, ducking her head so she didn't have to see my reaction. I frowned.

"What did he say?" I asked, now concerned. I heard her sigh before she looked back up at me.

"I duno. I didn't stick around to hear" she said and she started playing with her food. "I couldn't really sleep last night after that. Brought everything back up, you know?" she continued. I couldn't help but be completely surprised at her total honesty. She was finally opening up to me, of which I was glad as I only wanted to look out for my friend.

"You know where I am if you ever want to talk about anything" I told her, and she stopped pushing her food around her plate to look up at me, a small but seemingly genuine smile on her face.

"Thanks Lily" she said quietly and I smiled back at her.

"Your argument really bothered him you know" Remus interjected quietly, and I looked over to him to see him looking at Ally with a small frown on his face. She looked up at him as well,

"Really?" she asked, seemingly surprised by his comment. Remus nodded but said nothing more on the matter and Ally lapsed into silence.

**Ally's POV**

Sirius was actually bothered by our argument? He had seemed so annoyed as he told me about his family but then I guess I was just as annoyed at him at the time. I sighed and carried on playing with my food; having no real appetite. My mind whirled with a variety of thoughts and feelings that I struggled to try and stop flowing.

"Ally?" I heard a voice calling me and looked up to find that everybody had arrived at breakfast. I blinked in surprise and looked round at everybody who seemed to all be frowning at me. "You coming?" the voice continued and I looked to my right to see that it had been Lily calling me.

"Sorry, um yeah sure" I replied, not really sure what was going on. My eyes found Sirius's but I quickly looked away, not sure if I was quite ready to talk to him about what had happened. Later. I would talk to him later.

The day passed in a bit of a blur and my mind kept going back to what Remus had told me at breakfast. However, throughout the day Sirius had seemed quite laid back; winking and talking to every girl he passed. We hadn't spoken in charms; instead Sirius chose to talk to the girl on the other side of him the whole way through the lesson. I was confused; it obviously hadn't bothered him too much if he was acting like this.

It was the end of the day and I found myself wandering down the corridor in the general direction of the library. However, as I rounded the corner I found that I wasn't alone; Sirius was leaning against the wall a bit further along. He looked up as he heard my footsteps and I realised that I couldn't quickly turn around and go back the way I was going. He smiled a little hesitantly as he saw me but I carried on walking towards him nonetheless.

"Hi" I said as I approached him, having no intention of stopping to talk to him.

"Hey" he replied and I carried on walking. "Ally?" he questioned and I stopped, figuring that I should probably turn around.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to avoid eye contact.

"About last night. I'm, well, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you" he said, and I looked up to see him running his hand through his hair looking quite uncomfortable.

"It's fine. I should be the one apologising really. I'm sorry that I yelled at you" I told him quickly, a small smile on my face; a smile which was reciprocated.

"Its-Oh, Maria" he said quickly, seemingly surprised. I turned to my left to see Maria Cavadino coming out of the girls toilets. Oh. That's why Sirius had been here.

"I'm surprised you waited" she told him, a smile on her face.

"I told you I would" he said, unable to keep the charm out of his voice. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

"Oh sorry. Maria this is my, er, my friend, Ally" he introduced and I gave her a quick smile, feeling my heart sink.

"Nice to meet you" she said politely, giving me a friendly smile.

"You too" I replied, trying to return the smile. "Anyway I better go, Ed and Jacob will be wondering where I got to" I rambled and with one last smile and avoidance of the eyes of Sirius I turned and quickly walked away, left with a horrible feeling of disappointment in my stomach.

****

James's POV

Sirius could be so daft sometimes. Honestly. I knew he liked Ally, in fact, everybody knew it and I'm pretty sure she liked him too. However, Sirius could be so stubborn sometimes and it was best to let him try and figure stuff out for himself. I saw Ally arrive at dinner but she took a seat at the Hufflepuff table with Edward and Jacob. This wasn't entirely unusual as she did sometimes eat with them but I could see her keep glancing over at our table. I caught her eye and she flashed me a quick smile; a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Something had obviously happened but I hadn't seen Sirius in a while to ask him if he had spoken to her today.

"I wonder if they've spoken" Remus said, voicing my thoughts out loud. I shrugged and returned to my dinner but we didn't have to wait too long for an answer. Very soon we heard a bit of a commotion and I looked towards the entrance of the Hall to see Sirius arrive hand in hand with Maria Cavadino. Seriously?

"Oh Sirius" I groaned, putting my head in my hand.

"He can be so stupid sometimes" Remus remarked and I turned to see him shaking at his head at our best friends antics.

"What's wrong with it?" Peter questioned, seemingly oblivious to pretty much everything that was happening around him. I shook my head, I couldn't be bothered to explain.

"Guys I've come up with the perfect solution" came my best friends voice from across the table. I looked up to see him alone as he took a seat at the table and started piling his plate with food.

"Look like a complete dick?" I asked him, frowning. He looked up at me, obviously unimpressed.

"Cheers mate. Can always rely on you for support" he said sarcastically shaking his head. "No my plan is simple. Be her friend" he said simply looking up very much impressed at his idea. I looked at him confused. That was it? What was he on?

"Actually Padfoot, that's quite clever" Remus said, looking at him.

"What?" I asked, surprised that Moony had been taken in by his seemingly stupid plan.

"You should do the same really James with Lily" he continued and Sirius shook his head.

"Just you watch Prongs my old friend. I got this covered" he said cockily and with that, he delved into his food. Remus chuckled and followed his example. I guess it was just me being left in the dark then.

The rest of the week passed pretty quickly and it was soon Friday. I had watched Sirius closely, and had begun to understand what he was talking about. He spoke to Ally like he would to any of us and she seemed to relax in his company, becoming much more talkative and open then she had been with him before. I had to give it to him, it was actually a pretty good plan, and I could see what Remus meant about me trying it with Evans. However, I didn't think it would be as easy with her.

We were lounging about in the common room, all seated together and for once Lily wasn't moaning about it. This therefore gave me a great opportunity to try and talk to her but she just looked at me weirdly and started up a conversation with Alice instead. Oh well, at least I could look at her without getting told off by anybody. Ally was sat by the window doing some work (as per usual) and Sirius and Remus were playing chess.

"Hah!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed and everybody looked over to see Sirius looking very pleased with himself and Remus looking shocked. "Sorry Moony old buddy but I think you'll find you just lost" and I looked at the board to see that that was indeed the case. I was completely shocked, Sirius never beat Remus. Like ever. I'm unsure why but at that moment I looked over to where Ally was sitting. She seemed to be staring at us, and I could see her eyes flickering between me, Sirius, Remus and Peter. She then looked down at her notes, up at the sky and her eyes turned a bright, electric blue. What on earth? I continued to watch her as her eyes turned gradually bluer, if that was even possible. Her eyes continued to flick between the four of us before they finally rested on Moony. Moony. It clicked. Shit, shit, shit. She'd figured it out.


	25. A Little Help Goes A Long way

**A/N: Another chapter for you! This chapter is sort of a much needed filler - next chapter it's all going to start happening so stick with it my wonderful readers! Truly hope to get it with you soon. Enjoy :)**

**James's POV**

"Err, I need to err, post a letter. You coming Ally? Great" I said very quickly and she stared at me with her electric blue eyes shining. I rapidly went over to her, grabbed her hand and forced her to stand up. If people saw the colour of her eyes there would be ridiculous amounts of questions and I needed to avoid that as I wasn't sure how she would react to everything; badly by the looks of things at the moment. Luckily, she let me lead her out of the circle and before anybody could really comprehend what was going on we were leaving the common room. She said nothing but let me take her to the first empty classroom I could find.

"Ally?" I asked, hesitantly.

**Ally's POV**

I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to figure it out. Shows how preoccupied I had been lately. I heard James calling my name but sort of blocked it out. I can't believe I had missed the signs; I had never questioned Remus's frequent absences, not questioned the nicknames. But it all made sense. He was a werewolf. A loud bang made me jerk out of my thoughts as I saw Sirius and Remus skid into the room.

"What on earth is going on?" Sirius asked, looking between me and James. All of a sudden I realised that James still had my hand and I slowly pulled it away.

"I know" I managed to get out, looking specifically at Remus. He blanched at my words and took a few steps back, managing to find a desk to lean against. I moved away towards the window and looked up at the sky. Nobody said anything and I could feel them all staring at me.

"I-" Remus began but I turned around, shaking my head.

"No Remus" I said slowly. He looked up at me, sadness in his eyes. "You don't have to explain anything" I said and his expression changed to one of confusion. I ignored the other two and moved closer to him. "I don't want you to tell me anything you don't want to because you feel forced to" I continued. I thought back to my own secret and how it had been forced out without my permission. The memory still hurt and I still got weird looks in the corridors between classes. However, Remus had it much worse than me. I had gotten to know him and he was honestly one of the nicest people I had ever met. He had helped me through my first few months, become my friend and welcomed me into his group of friends with such ease and kindness.

"What do you mean?" he asked, hesitantly, frowning.

"I know you as Remus. Nothing else. That's who you'll always be to me, regardless of anything. You're my friend" I told him quietly with a smile. He paused for a moment before his face broke out into an enormous smile. He got up, closed the distance between me and engulfed me in a huge hug.

"You're amazing you know" he whispered to me. We broke away and I shrugged with a smile,

"I have been told a couple of times before" I said cheekily and he laughed.

"Are you…are you sure you don't mind?" he asked again, quietly. I shook my head determinedly.

"No, I meant it, honestly. What does it matter, I mean, to me of all people? I don't have a leg to stand on judging you" I said with a small laugh and he smiled at me.

"I guess so. I mean, now I'm not the only freak in the group" he said with a small chuckle and I joined him.

"Ahem" came a voice to my left and I jumped, having forgotten that we weren't actually alone. I turned to see James and Sirius standing there looking somewhat bewildered.

"But, you looked so shocked!" James burst out, seemingly unable to contain himself. I shrugged,

"I was at first" I told him honestly. "But then I thought about it all" I rounded off and he just looked at me with an odd expression on his face. We stood in silence for a while, all three of them staring at me and I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "We should probably get back. They'll be wondering where we are".

"Yeah this is true. We did leave in a bit of a rush" Remus replied, grinning at me. I smiled back at him and made a move towards the door.

"You guys go ahead. We'll catch you up" James said and I looked over at him with a frown. However, he said nothing and so I continued out of the door with Remus. We walked in silence for a while but I could tell Remus wanted to say something; I could see him opening his mouth and then shutting it again out of the corner of my eye.

"Can I ask you something?" he finally managed to get out.

"Sure" I responded, smiling encouragingly at him. He took a few moments but eventually managed to ask me his question:

"How did you, you know, figure it out?". I looked over at him with a slight frown.

"Well I knew about Sirius and James obviously. And then tonight, I was doing some work on werewolves and then Sirius called you 'Moony' and everything sort of clicked and fell into place" I explained rather slowly, thinking back to my thought process. He stopped walking for a second and looked at me with a frown.

"You were doing work on werewolves?" he asked me and I too, stopped dead. Crap. I hadn't thought about this at all.

"Yeah" I replied, hoping he wouldn't take it any further.

"But we're not doing that in any of our lessons. We did that last year" he said, still looking at me confused. I sighed and closed my eyes, thinking for a second. When I opened them Remus was still gazing at me in the same confused manner.

"If I tell you something will you promise not to tell anybody?" I asked him. He looked taken a back for a second before he smiled slightly and nodded his head.

"Of course" he said earnestly. I took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Well, you know that I'm well…not supposed to be in the same year as you all; I've been moved up because Professor Dumbledore thought it would be more appropriate for me. But this means that I've missed out on, well, doing my OWLs. So I have to do them in three weeks time" I told him rapidly, trying not to look at him. He didn't say anything and so I chanced a quick glance up at him. He was looking at me, smiling.

"You must be feeling the pressure huh? Well, I'm always happy to help if you need a hand with anything you know" Remus told me. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at him.

"Thanks" I told him and he shook his head.

"Not a problem" he replied, gesturing me to continue walking with him.

"How come you don't want anybody to know?" he asked me curiously after we had walked a few paces. I shrugged.

"It's just another reason for people to stare at me and think I'm weird isn't it?" I asked him rhetorically. He didn't say anything for a while and we walked in silence.

"You know none of our lot would care about you doing your OWLs now, don't you?" he asked me quietly. I looked up at him and could see a trace of what seemed to be concern on his face.

"I don't know" I told him with a shrug, thinking about it. "But with everything else that's happened I'd rather not chance it" I finished off quietly.

"Well like I said, I won't tell anyone anyway" he reassured me.

"Thanks Remus" I replied and he grinned at me. "I wonder where James and Sirius are…"

**James's POV**

"Was that IT?" Sirius demanded of me when we were sure they had walked on. I shrugged, completely confused. "You had me all worried when you left and the colour of her eyes! Merlin!" he exclaimed, sitting down onto one of the desks.

"Watching her closely were we?" I couldn't help but say with a small grin on his face. Padfoot just rolled his eyes at me.

"You know I'm trying the whole friend thing" he said, a little bit exasperated. I looked closely at my best friend and I knew that he was struggling a bit with _only_ being her friend.

"You still really like her don't you?" I asked him, actually being properly serious for once. Sirius had obviously picked up on my tone and looked up at me, hesitating before answering me.

"Yeah" he said quietly, a slight sigh coming out at the same time. "I don't know what's wrong with me Prongs. Why can't I just, you know, move on?" he asked me. I was surprised to see how down he seemed about everything.

"She's gone through a lot lately Pad. She needs friends at the moment. I'm sure she'll come round eventually, I'm sure she likes you too" I told him honestly.

"Hmm" was all he replied with and then he suddenly jumped up. "Anyway. I've had enough of a heart to heart. We'd better get going before they start to wonder where we are" he said and before I could say anything else he had a huge grin on his face and was holding the door open for me.

"Such a gentlemen" I replied, putting on a high voice and he chuckled. We hadn't been walking that far when we heard voices ahead. Not knowing who they were we instantly fell silent and crept towards the corner. As we got closer I recognised the voices as belonging to Ally and Remus and wondered how they were still on their way to the common room.

"If I tell you something will you promise not to tell anybody?" I heard Ally say, albeit quite quietly. Me and Sirius exchanged a quick glance and I wasn't sure if this was something we should be overhearing.

"Of course" Remus replied. Well he would say that wouldn't he. There was a brief silence and I could almost hear Ally thinking things through.

"Well, you know that I'm well…not supposed to be in the same year as you all; I've been moved up because Professor Dumbledore thought it would be more appropriate for me. But this means that I've missed out on, well, doing my OWLs. So I have to do them in three weeks time" she told him. I glanced at Sirius to see him looking, well, slightly shocked. He opened his mouth to say something but I shook my head; we couldn't chance being overheard when Ally had just said that. We continued to listen as they slowly began to walk away but we could still hear them talking.

"How come you don't want anybody to know?" I heard Remus ask her over the noise of their footsteps. I edged closer to the corner, hoping that they wouldn't turn round at any point; Sirius copying my action.

"It's just another reason for people to stare at me and think I'm weird isn't it?" Ally replied, and I could hear a tone of hurt in her voice. Sirius beside me growled slightly and I turned, puzzled to look at him. He shook his head and walked back a few paces, leaning against the wall.

"You can see why she's saying that can't you?" he whispered, asking me with a frown on his face.

"Well I guess after everything that's happened with how we found out about her-" I started to say but was cut off by Pad.

"No. People still stare at her in the corridors and things. She notices it, I know she does" he said quietly, looking down at his feet. I can't say I had noticed but then again, I didn't watch Ally in the same way that Sirius did.

"We're going to have to pretend we didn't hear any of this, you know that right?" I asked him and he nodded. "All we can do is be there for her, I'm sure she must be feeling a bit stressed at least" I continued, remembering how much pressure there was on these exams. Again Sirius nodded but didn't say anything and, checking that the coast was clear, we slowly made our way back to the common room.

**Sirius's POV**

I'm going to kill Peeves next time I see him. As if he woke me up at 6am on a Saturday? Stupid poltergeist. I couldn't get back to sleep after that so figured that I may as well eat a load of food to make up for my lack of sleep.

"Good morning" came a voice way too chipper for this time in the morning.

"Morning" I replied, unable to stop the smile that appeared despite my lack of enthusiasm for this time. Ally took a seat next to me and stated pulling some food towards her.

"You know, I'm ridiculously shocked that you're actually here at half past 7 on a Saturday" she told me, turning to grin at me when she said this.

"And I'm surprised that you're down here this late; rumour has it you're normally down at 7" I replied cheekily and she laughed.

"So, why on earth are you up at this time?" she asked before delving into a rather boring looking bowl of cereal.

"Peeves" was all I said by way of answer and she looked at me weirdly. "He likes to wind us Marauders up" I told her and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Somebody winding up the Marauders? Whatever next?" she said and I shook my head at her. "How comes you didn't go back to sleep?" she continued. I shrugged,

"No idea. I haven't been sleeping that well lately" I admitted to her and was momentarily surprised when she frowned."

"That's odd, neither have I" she told me. I stared at her for a few seconds before I saw a faint hint of colour rise in her cheeks and she looked away.

"Any particular reason?" I asked her; unable to stop a grin appearing on my face, glad that I still had some sort of effect on her.

"Not really" she said quietly, keeping her eyes averted from me. Definitely lying. "What are you going to do today then? It's going to seem long for you now" she said, looking up at me finally with a grin on her face.

"How about you entertain me seeing as you think it's so funny?" I asked her and she laughed.

"I would do you know but work calls" she replied and I shook my head.

"Always working" I muttered, loud enough for her to hear. I looked at her in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Well I have a lot to do" she told me, seriousness coming through in her voice. Oh. Of course. She had her OWLs. It had been a week since me and James had overheard that conversation which meant that her exams were now only a couple of weeks away.

"You must need a break every now and again" I told her with a smile but she just shrugged.

"I don't know I'm sort of…" she trailed off, not managing to finish her sentence. I frowned, wondering what was wrong.

"Sort of…?" I asked her but she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter" she replied abruptly. I looked curiously at her, wondering if it was work related.

"Go on. It's only me. Something seems to be bothering you" I said to her softly and she looked at me, looking slightly wary.

"It's just, well…" again she started but not quite finishing. She seemed, embarrassed was it? I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. Ally looked up at me again, as if weighing up what she wanted to say. "I've sort of hit a bit of a block, with a spell. Can't quite seem to get to grips with it" she said slowly. Upon finishing she blushed slightly and looked away. Now I understood. She was obviously stuck with something she was revising and hadn't wanted to say as we weren't supposed to know about her OWLs and she didn't want to seem stupid. I was totally getting the hang of this understanding business.

"Well I'll give you a hand if you like?" I offered and she looked up.

"I don't want to bother you. I'm sure I'll get it eventually" she replied.

"Come on. What else am I supposed to do with my horribly long day?" I asked her with a grin. I was pleased to see a small smile on her face.

"Only if you're sure?" she asked, still seemingly uncertain.

"I'm positive. Ready when you are" I told her with a reassuring smile, one which was happily returned.

**James's POV**

I looked around the Great Hall but could see no sign of him.

"Lost your boyfriend?" came Fiona's voice from behind me. I turned round and shook my head in disgust. She just laughed as she continued down the table to where the rest of the girls were sat. Honestly, I hope he turned up as we had Quidditch practise after lunch.

"Somebody doesn't seem very happy" came another voice from behind me. I turned around to see Ally standing there with a smile on her face. She looked pretty happy.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows. She in turn rolled her eyes.

"Am I not allowed to be happy?" she asked me. I kept my eyebrows raised.

"Pff" was all I heard as she strolled past me to join the rest of her friends. Seriously, what was with people just leaving me to stand by myself? Instead I took a seat at the top of the table so that I could keep an eye out for my friends; all of whom had disappeared. As I was tucking into the first few bites of my food, Remus appeared and took a seat opposite me.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked me.

"Where've you been? I've had to entertain myself all morning" I moaned at him, admittedly very much like a child. Remus chuckled,

"I, unlike some, like to try and keep on top of my school work" he replied, putting his favourite lunchtime meal on his plate; lasagne. "Least you have Quidditch to cheer you up this afternoon" he continued before taking a huge mouthful of food.

"Good afternoon chaps" Sirius greeted us happily as he eventually joined us for lunch. I looked up at him, eyebrows raised (there had been a lot of this today).

"Another oddly happy person" was all I remarked and he looked up at me, pausing in the process of creating a mountain on his plate.

"The other being…?" he questioned.

"You've been with Ally haven't you?" I asked him bluntly. He grinned very cockily at me.

"Maybe I have. Your point?" he replied, continuing to add to the mountain.

"Well? What happened?" I asked him, not being able to help the curiosity that I was beginning to feel.

"Nothing. Just helped her with some work" he replied, grinning up at me. Now I was confused.

"Good going" Remus told him, and I looked over to see him grinning in return at Padfoot.

"Wait. What?" I asked, even more bemused.

"Thanks Moony. Working a charm it is" Sirius continued, as if I hadn't spoken.

"I always knew it would. She's letting you in. She'll realise soon enough" Moony told him, and I was just left to watch their conversation.

"I think she already might be" Pad told him with a grin. Remus laughed but said nothing more.

"The 'friend' thing?" I questioned, hoping somebody would respond. Both of them nodded in reply but said nothing. I guess I actually had a lot to learn.

**Lizzy's POV**

"Where have you been all morning then?" I asked Ally as she took a seat next to me, shortly after Fiona had arrived.

"Just doing some work" she replied, unable to keep the smile off of her face. Fiona laughed and we both looked up at her.

"And what does Sirius have to do with this work?" she asked. Ally looked at her and a bright blue tinged her eyes for a brief moment before returning to a normal brown colour. Although, now that I looked a bit closer it seemed more green than brown. Odd.

"He was just helping me is all" she replied, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. I spun to look at her.

"Woah, really?" I asked, thinking Fiona had just made it up. She nodded,

"What's wrong with that? We're friends" she replied. I chanced a quick glance at Fiona who was grinning like a right weirdo.

"Mmhmm. Friends indeed" she said and Ally just shook her head. We ate in silence for a while, each left to our own thoughts when Fiona, having seemingly inhaled her food, spoke up.

"It's such a nice day guys. Why don't you come outside and watch us train?" she asked us, looking wistfully out of the window. I turned to Ally who shrugged.

"Would be good to get some fresh air I guess" I told her and she smiled happily.

"Oh good. I'm guna go bother the guys and Erica so that we can get going sooner. I'll see you in a bit" she said rapidly, jumping up and striding away hurriedly, her blonde hair fluttering behind her.

"I'm going to go and grab my jacket. Regardless of how nice it is, it is only February and I'm still not used to this English weather" Ally told me. I couldn't help but laugh as I could hear the slight hatred for our cold winters coming through in her voice.

"Alright. I'll wait for you here" I told her. She gave me a quick smile before she departed at top speed. I finished my lunch slowly, knowing Ally would move at normal speed with so many people around. I was therefore surprised when somebody took a seat opposite me not two minutes after she had left. I was even more surprised when that person turned out to be Sirius Black.

"Good afternoon Lizzy my dear friend" he greeted me.

"What do you want?" I asked him straight away.

"Ouch, I was just being friendly" he said, feigning hurt and clutching at his heart. I just looked at him. "Oh come on am I not allowed to be nice?" he asked me, looking slightly amused at my reaction.

"As if. Now come on. Spill. What do you want to know?" I asked him, unable to grin as I knew exactly what he wanted.

"Who says I want anything?" he replied, looking carefully at me.

"Oh please. Spending the morning with Ally and now you wait for her to go before you come and talk to me" I told him, and I could see a smile appear on his face.

"Fine, Mews. You got me" he replied, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Oh, back to surname basis are we? And I thought we were getting somewhere" I told him and he laughed.

"Sorry, _Lizzy_" he replied, heavily emphasising my name. I chuckled, he was actually a nice guy.

"So, you going to tell me?" I asked him and he leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table.

"Well. I was just wondering if, you know, she had said anything to you lately?" he asked me, his eyes shining in what I could only describe as utter hope.

"What's it worth?" I asked him, grinning. He leant back.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"This information is very valuable to you, I believe. So, what's it worth?" I asked him cheekily, wondering if I would get away with this. He looked at me for a couple of seconds before replying,

"Knowing that you were right and Ally was wrong" he replied cockily. He had seen straight through me.

"Screw you Black. Fine. I'll talk. But you better keep your mouth shut, otherwise she will kill me" I replied and he grinned widely before resuming his previous position; leaning on the table with his arms crossed.

"Deal" he told me and I glanced around quickly to make sure nobody was listening.

"She hasn't said much. It's more what she hasn't said. You should have seen her at lunch, smile on her face the whole way through" I told him and this made his grin even wider.

"Reckon I'm in with a shot?" he asked me eagerly. I hesitated for a second,

"You really like her, don't you?" I asked him quietly. Sirius looked down for a second, a slight frown on his face. "I'm not going to go round telling everybody you know. I just, I don't want her to get hurt" I said quietly and he looked up at me, his face very serious.

"You know I wouldn't ever hurt her. I do really like her" he told me. I have to say, I did truly believe him.

"Yes. Going the way you are, you're definitely in with a chance" I replied honestly. I knew Ally liked him, she was just a bit wary with everything that had happened. Sirius looked like all his Christmas's had come at once. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could do so Ally appeared beside him.

"Wow. You look horribly happy" was her first reaction at seeing Sirius. He laughed as he stood up.

"That's because I _am_ horribly happy" he replied with a smile. I noticed how he had instantly swapped his grin for a genuine smile, one I had frequently seen him use when Ally was around. It had its desired effect; a very small hint of colour appeared on her face.

"Any reason in particular?" she asked, him and he shrugged.

"Maybe" was all he replied before he turned back to me. "Always a pleasure Lizzy. See you round girls" he finished off, sending me a quick wink which seemed to go unnoticed by Ally and he sauntered off. Ally just stared at me,

"What on earth was that about?" she asked me and I shrugged.

"He is just one very happy Marauder" I told her and she looked sceptically at me. "Come on, let's go for a wander outside" I said, getting up and beginning to move out of the hall, hoping Ally wouldn't ask me any more questions on the subject. I was lucky and she just walked beside me in silence as we left the castle and were greeted with a blast of cold, fresh air. I heard Ally shiver next to me and couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't help it!" she exclaimed, although there was a small smile on her face.

"You need to hurry up and get used to it" I retaliated and she shoved me as a means of reply. We continued to walk in silence for a while as we casually strolled over to the Quidditch pitch.

"So, Sirius helped you today huh?" I asked her, making sure to keep any amusement out of my voice. I could see Ally looking at me out the corner of my eye but kept me eyes facing forwards.

"Yeah. I saw him at breakfast this morning and I told him I was a bit stuck with something and he offered me his help" she explained. I turned to look at her in time to see a small smile on her face.

"I guess he has his moments" I replied and she nodded.

"I guess so" she said quietly. Yup. Sirius was definitely in with a chance.


	26. Drink and Kisses

**A/N: Finally here! Hope you enjoy it guys :)**

**Ally's POV**

The past month and a half had flown in a haze of exams, revision and stress. It was so nice for my exams to be over at last and to go back to normal, well, as normal as could be. There had been a few questions about my absence in classes over my exam period but thankfully Remus and Lily had managed to help me out with explanations and after a few days nobody really asked anymore. I was unsure whether the two of them had told them that I was sitting my OWLs but as I had asked them not to say anything I trusted that they were just very good at deflecting questions. After my exams, Easter had arrived and I had gone back home for a couple of weeks. We had a fleeting visit to France before we were back in England to see mum and dad's friends and then, before I knew it, I was back at Hogwarts. It had been a bit of whirlwind to be honest and I was really glad to be back here for my final term of my first year. Not only this, but we had been having some freak late April weather which made me hugely happy as it was a much better temperature than all this cold weather.

"Can't believe you've already nearly been here a year. Feels like you've always been here!" Lizzy told me as we lounged outside by the lake after classes on the first day back.

"I know, it's been really great" I replied, smiling at her.

"Guys you should really come in" Fiona yelled at us. I looked over at her happily splashing around in the lake like a five year old. She was determined to go for a paddle – a paddle which had turned into a fully fledged water fight with Alice.

"We're alright thanks Fi" Lizzy yelled back.

"She looks way too happy" came a voice from behind us. I turned around to see Lily walking towards us.

"Hey Lils" I greeted her happily as she flopped down on the grass next to me.

"I'm surprised you're not in the library" was her greeting for me and I laughed,

"Only the first day back" I told her, in a very happy mood. "How was Luke?" I asked, watching her reaction carefully. I had sensed that all was not in fact well with their relationship at the moment but didn't want to ask too many questions and intrude. She shrugged,

"I think it's because he's finishing this year and I've still got another year left" she told us and Lizzy nodded.

"Just enjoy it" Lizzy told her and Lily sighed.

"I guess so" was all she replied as she cast a glance over to where Fiona and Alice had apparently given up on any notion of being dry.

"Good evening ladies" came a voice I recognised. I grinned as I stood up to give James a hug; funnily enough this had been the first proper time I had seen him since coming back. He hugged me back enthusiastically.

"It's been a while" he told me when he let me go.

"It has. Where have you been hiding all day?" I asked him as he sat down next to Lizzy who smiled warmly at him. Lily simply ignored his presence.

"Making plans" he said mysteriously with a grin.

"What sort of plans?" I asked him, intrigued that he was even divulging the fact that he was making plans.

"The sort of plans for people who want to have a bit of fun on a Saturday night" he replied. I looked at him and he laughed. "Up for it? We figured we should have a sort of gathering. Nothing big; just a casual night, bit of fun. Everybody seemed a bit stressed at the end of last term and we figured since it's our final term we might as well have some fun" he told us. I looked over at Lizzy who was looking pretty happy at this idea and she nodded along.

"Lils?" I asked her and she turned to look at me.

"Sorry, I said I would do something with Luke Saturday evening" she said, not looking at James at all. I cast a quick glance in his direction to see him look a little upset at this but it passed quickly.

"Sounds like a plan" I told him and he smiled happily at me.

"Invite the rest of the girls as well" he told me as he moved to stand up. "Anyway I'm going to go and eat as I'm starving. I'll see you later" James said as he departed and moved in the direction of the Great Hall.

"What did he want?" Fiona asked. I hadn't realised that her and Alice had decided to call it a day on their water fight and had come up to join us.

"Up for doing something Saturday night?" I asked her and Alice. They both nodded along happily,

"Sure. Why not? Anyway, I've put off dinner for long enough – let's go eat!" she said excitedly as she began to pull on her socks over her wet feet. Lily just shook her head as she stood up and we all slowly made our way into the Great Hall.

**Lizzy's POV**

The rest of the week passed quickly enough; after classes we always spent a while out in the grounds before dinner, revelling in the sunshine and making the most of the good weather. Soon enough Saturday came rolling round and with it came a curious amount of heat.

"It's so warm!" I exclaimed as I flopped down at the Gryffindor table next to Ally.

"I know, isn't it great?" she asked me. I looked at her but she was beaming away, obviously in a very good mood.

"We should make the most of it. Spend the day outside. OH! We can go for a swim!" Fiona said, all in one very long breath.

"I've been dying to go in for ages!" Alice joined in happily. I nodded along; I could definitely do with cooling down, this weather was uncharacteristic for this time of the year.

"Up for it Ally?" I asked her. I looked at her as she seemed hesitant about the idea.

"I'm going to do some work this morning but I'll meet you down there in a bit if it's alright?" she asked. I nodded but felt like there was something more to it than work.

"Course. Just don't take too long" I replied, nudging her slightly. She gave a small laugh and I looked at her carefully, noting a slight golden tinge to her eyes. I was in the middle of wondering what she was worrying about when she made to stand up.

"I'll see you later then" she said quickly and with that, she moved over to my table where I could see her going in the direction of Edward and Jacob.

"Something up you reckon?" Fiona asked me from across the table. I shrugged, not saying anything but pulling some food towards me instead.

"Good morning all" James greeted us as him, Sirius and Remus all joined us at the table.

"Morning. We're going down to the lake for a swim if you want to join us?" Fiona asked them. Their eyes lit up and they looked very excited at the prospect.

"Sounds great" Remus said enthusiastically. The other two nodded, being currently unable to speak as their mouths were crammed with food. Sirius swallowed quickly and then looked at me, slight frown on his face.

"Where's Ally?" he asked me. I couldn't help the grin that rapidly appeared on my face as he shook his head at me, unable to stop a smile appearing either. For an answer, I nodded my head in the direction of the Hufflepuff table where she was still stood by the boys.

"Is she actually doing work on a day like this?" James butted in, looking most upset at the thought.

"Well this is normal weather for her isn't it. You know what she's like. Anyway, she said she'll come down later" I told them and James shrugged and turned back to his food. Sirius however, was frowning slightly whilst shaking his head.

"Sure you're going for the right girl?" Remus asked him, a slight mocking tone to his voice.

"Shut up Moony" was all he replied as he too, turned back to breakfast. No matter how many times I heard their nicknames, I still found it utterly bizarre.

We had returned to the Great Hall for lunch but couldn't see Ally anywhere. We had had a good morning and the boys had been a right laugh (although being chucked into the lake wasn't quite what I had in mind but oh well). After lunch we went back outside to sit by the lake. Me, Alice, Fiona and Susan sat on the grass whilst the boys went straight back to the water. Mandy was off with another of her Ravenclaw friends and Lily had gone to the library to do some work but she had at least spent some time with us today. I couldn't believe how hot it was; we were all in shorts – it was madness!

"Afternoon" I heard Allys voice approaching us. Turning I saw her making her way over.

"Well check you out" was my reply and she raised her eyebrows at me. "Nice shorts" I told her and she smiled as she took a seat next to me on the grass; her green shorts blending in nicely.

"Yeah they're an amazing colour" Alice chipped in.

"Thanks guys" she said as she stretched out in the sunshine. I hadn't noticed until now that she had in fact brought her books along.

"Seriously? We're meant to be having fun!" I exclaimed. She laughed as she looked over at me.

"Yeah but if you all go in the lake I'll have something to do" she said by way of explanation.

"Not coming in then?" Fiona asked her, seeming very disappointed by her remark. Ally shook her head,

"Sorry guys, I'm embracing the heat while I can" she said and I sighed.

"So boring" I told her.

"Oi, leave me alone!" Ally exclaimed, smiling at me nonetheless.

"Come on guys I want to go back innnn" Fiona moaned, and I turned to see her looking longingly at the water.

"Fine, come on then" I told her with a smile and she jumped up joyfully, quickly stripping down to her bikini.

"Have fun" was all Ally said. I once again shook my head at her before following the rest of the girls back down to the water.

**Sirius's POV**

"Keep your watery habits away from me Black!" Lizzy exclaimed as she strolled along the bank. "I'm getting in on my own accord this time thanks" she said, frowning at me. I laughed at her; she took too long to get in which is why me and James had gone to assist her before. The rest of the girls were already in the water – not messing around the way Mews seemed to. As I was thinking this my eyes scanned the rest of the bank when they stopped on a person I knew very well. I began to make my way out of the water when James yelled at me.

"OI. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Really, it was unnecessarily loud. I indicated that I would be one minute before continuing on my way. I stealthily left the water and was slowly walking up the bank, right where she was sitting, planning my next move carefully when:

"Don't even think about it". Dam, that was good. Ally looked up from her book and looked at me with a frown.

"Think about what?" I asked innocently but she just rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty happy being this dry and warm" was all she said and I grinned before I sat down next to her.

"How come you're not coming in?" I asked as she put down the book she was reading. She looked out over the water before looking at me, as if thinking about what to say.

"Like I said before, I'm happy being dry and warm" she said with a smile. I was expecting a little more than this as it seemed obvious there was an actual reason for her not coming in the lake.

"I reckon it's just because it means you can read" I replied, not asking her anymore about it. She laughed a little as she put her hand on her pile of books.

"You got me" Ally told me, looking at me with a smile.

"So, looking forward to a bit of fun tonight?" I asked her, looking over the lake where James was currently trying to push Fiona under the water.

"Yeah I am actually, it should be good. What have you got planned for us?" she asked me and I just looked at her with a grin.

"Nothing too bad" was all I said and she shook her head. "Honestly! We just thought it would be nice to all hang out" I told her, thinking about our conversation. She still looked a little sceptical but didn't say anything else, moving her eyes away from me.

"Do you guys even know how much attention you get?" she asked all of a sudden. I looked in the same direction as her to see a group of girls sitting close by, alternating between looking at me and Ally and everybody else in the water.

"I could say the same about you girls" I told her cheekily. She spun to look at me, first of all with a frown on her face and then she grinned at me.

"Jealous?" she asked me. Did she seriously just ask me that? Was she…was she being flirty with me? Well, I was definitely going to hedge my bets and take a chance.

"I might be if I didn't have my own fan club" I replied, standing up and stretching. Right on queue the girls sat near us all turned in my direction and started giggling. I sent them a wink and out of the corner of my eye I could see her roll her eyes.

"Feel free to go and join them" she told me, squinting up at me. I held eye contact for a few seconds, eventually making her blush.

"Jealous?" I asked her in return and she laughed but didn't say anything. Instead she turned back to look at the girls and before I even knew what I was doing myself I bent down and picked her up, putting her over my shoulder upside down.

"SIRIUS BLACK PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW" she yelled at me. I laughed and began to walk down to the lake.

"DON'T YOU DARE BLACK! PUT ME DOWN!" she continued to yell.

"Ouch. Surname? Really? And here was me thinking we were getting somewhere" I told her, not stopping my leisurely stroll.

"SERIOUSLY!" she shouted, now hitting my back.

"Any excuse to touch me" I told her and she instantly stopped. I laughed at her reaction and could see the rest of our friends in the lake watching us.

"I don't currently have much choice given the position I'm in" she said, going back to a normal tone of voice. She had stopped struggling and was instead just allowing me to carry her away. Well, that was boring. "Are you going to put me down yet?" she asked me casually, and I could feel her trying to right herself so she wasn't hanging upside down.

"Nope" I told her simply, nearly at the water's edge.

"Any excuse to touch me" she retaliated and I grinned.

"Got a problem with that?" I countered and I could almost hear the blush that I imagine was on her face right now.

"Sirius if you put me in the water I'm going to kill you" was all she said. I slowly began going into the water, not very far but enough for her to start squirming again.

"Want me to drop you?" I asked her innocently.

"Don't you dare" she growled at me. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Having gone in up to just below my knees I decided to be nice and I very slowly put her down. Being shorter than me, the water came up to just above her knees and she looked very annoyed.

"Was that really bad?" I asked her with a grin and she nodded her head but refused to say anything. Instead she pushed past me in an attempt to get out. However, before she could get very far I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her round so that she was in fact very close to me. I heard her breath catch as she slowly looked up at me. "Was that not even worth making my fan club jealous?" I asked her quietly and she laughed a little.

"Maybe" was all she said before she pulled away and made her way back to her spot on the grass. I watched her go with a smile.

"You two need to sort your lives out and just get together already" Lizzy said from beside me.

"Just you wait" I told her with a grin as I made my way further into the lake to join the rest of the boys.

**Ally's POV**

After dinner we all went back up to our dormitory as the girls needed to sort themselves out after a day spent in the lake.

"What are you going to wear tonight?" Alice asked me as she sat on her bed waiting for Fiona to finish in the shower.

"This?" I asked hesitantly, thinking that what I was currently wearing was in fact perfectly acceptable. She looked at me somewhat critically for a second before replying;

"I guess I could let you go in that. At least you have your legs out" she said, grinning towards the end of her sentence.

"If it makes you happy" I replied, grinning back and she chuckled.

"So who's actually coming?" she asked me.

"Well I think out of us girls it's only me you, Fi and Lizzy" I told her, thinking carefully about it.

"Lily's with Luke but what about Susan and Mandy?" she asked me.

"They're doing something with the other Ravenclaws" I told her. She looked questioningly at me but I just shrugged; neither of them had said what exactly.

"Showers free!" Fiona sung at us as she came out, fully dressed with her wet hair swinging about all over the place. Alice quickly jumped up and into the bathroom leaving me with a very high spirited Fiona. However, I was quickly spared by the arrival of Lily.

"Good evening my wonderful, beautiful friend" Fiona said happily, enveloping her in a big hug.

"What do you want?" Lily asked at once and I laughed as Fiona playfully hit her.

"Am I not allowed to greet my bestest friend?" she asked and Lily laughed as she sat down on her bed. "When are you off with Luke then?" Fiona asked as she sat down to begin to sort her hair out. Lily looked down at her watch before replying.

"Half an hour or so. ALICE HURRY UP!" she yelled at the bathroom door.

"I'M GOING AS FAST AS POSSIBLE" Alice yelled back over the water.

"Anyway when are you guys going out?" Lily asked us, glancing again at her watch. I shrugged and turned to Fiona.

"No idea. I just figured we would go annoy the guys when we're ready" she said with a smile. "Now leave me to get ready!"

Forty five minutes later Fiona and Alice were finally ready and we were making our way up to the boys dormitory.

"Honestly I don't know how you guys take so long" I said to the two of them on the way up.

"I don't know how you don't take so long" Fiona retaliated, grinning back at me. I just shook my head as Fiona barged into their room without knocking.

"Oi Fiona!" I heard them all exclaim and following her and Alice into the room could see why they had been unimpressed. James was currently standing in just his boxers, Remus and Sirius were topless, Frank was in a t shirt and boxers and only Peter was actually dressed.

"Like what you see huh?" James said to us. I just rolled my eyes as he began to move about to find his clothes.

"We'll wait for you downstairs" Alice said, I looked over to her to see her staring at Frank who, to my surprise, sent a wink her way. This was enough to make her blush and duck quickly out of the room. I turned to follow her but before I could do so, I could feel somebody watching me. Knowing exactly who it would be I looked at Sirius who was watching me. I said nothing but merely grinned at him before following Alice out of the room. Hearing footsteps behind me I guessed Fiona was also following and we both made our way over to where Alice was sitting.

"Bit hot and bothered are we?" Fiona asked her as she sat down in the armchair next to her. Alice didn't respond and instead looked down at her watch.

"When did we say we would meet Lizzy?" she asked, ignoring Fiona's laughs and instead looking at me.

"About half eight" I told her and she frowned.

"Hopefully they'll hurry up. It's already twenty to" she informed us.

"In the mean time. You and Frank aye?" Fiona asked her, waggling her eyebrows in a hilarious way. We both burst out laughing which only made her laugh too.

"I feel like we're missing out on something". I looked up to see the Marauders and Frank finally descending the stairs (all in a full state of dress I might add) watching us with a smile on their face.

"Ready when you are" James told us, gesturing towards the portrait. We managed to regain some sort of control of ourselves and slowly made our way out of the common room.

"Where are we even going?" Fiona questioned when we were out in the corridor.

"Well, that would be a secret" James replied with a grin as he moved his hand towards his pocket. I didn't like the way this was going. Sure enough he withdrew his wand.

"And how are we supposed to get there if we don't know where there is?" Fiona continued, not looking at James but gesturing around her.

"You're just going to have to trust us…again" he tacked on as an afterthought. Fiona turned to look at them and only now did I see that they had in fact all got their wands out.

"You are kidding?" Alice asked, looking very wary.

"Oh come on, you trusted us last time" James relied, pouting and pretending to look upset. I chuckled slightly and he looked over and grinned at me.

"Yeah but last time there were more of us so it was safer" Fiona countered, also pouting now.

"Please, take your time. It's not like I was looking like a right weirdo standing there on my own at the top of the stairs with people walking past making – what's with the wands?" Lizzy had come round the corner looking very unimpressed but had then stopped mid-sentence. I guess it must have looked weird with the boys facing us with their wands out.

"Well, you trust us right?" Sirius asked her. Lizzy looked slightly hesitant about answering that question.

"Oh come on. Honestly, we're not going to prank you or anything. You just need to trust us!" James told us, and I could hear the impatience coming through in his voice.

"Fine. Fine!" Fiona said, holding her hands up in retaliation. James moved forwards but Fiona shook her head.

"As if I'm going to trust you" she said with a grin and instead moved over and stood in front of Remus. That was so unfair. Remus was definitely the most trust worthy. She grinned at him and he grinned right back at her. He quickly waved his wand at her and she instantly became blindfolded.

"Come on then" Lizzy said, moving to stand next to me. Sirius and James approached us with grins on their faces, looking very pleased with themselves. The last thing I saw was Sirius and James exchanging a glance and then it all went black.

Not ten minutes later we had finally arrived at our destination. We had been guided carefully along and then they had stopped us after various trips up and down staircases; if people saw us they must have thought we were utterly strange. I heard the boys muttering before a pair of hands landed on my shoulders and guided me in. All of a sudden the blindfold was removed and a wall of light hit me. I squinted a bit, rubbing my eyes before I looked up in utter and complete amazement and shock. I was stood in a front room of a house – not any old house, but a beach house. It was completely white washed with the furniture of a soft blue colour. I turned to my right and saw a huge double door leading out to a balcony. In a trance like state I moved over and hesitated before the door.

"You can open it you know" Sirius's voice sounded next to me. Not looking at him I slowly reached for the handle and took a breath before opening it. A rush of warm air hit me as I stepped out onto the balcony. It was truly something else; I could actually hear the sea and see the sand below the balcony. As I turned round to survey the room from the outside a sudden and unexpected feeling of sadness hit me and my breathing became shallower. I recognised this place. Without seemingly knowing it the Marauders had created a near exact replica of my parents old summer house.

**Sirius's POV**

I don't know what happened but Ally seemed to go in a state of shock. I had followed her over to the doors and told her she could go outside, expecting her to look happy or excited or anything resembling a good emotion but instead she seemed shaky. On stepping outside and looking around her eyes turned first electric blue and then went to an odd sort of navy colour – the colour they had been after Baker had told us her secret.

"Ally are you okay?" I asked her quietly, stepping towards her. She blinked suddenly and looked surprised that I was there.

"I…yeah…I'm…I'm fine" she said somewhat hesitantly, turning around to look out over the balcony. I wasn't sure whether to pursue it but I went to stand next to her.

"Are you sure?" I asked her again and she shrugged this time.

"Its…this place…I don't know how you did it" she muttered. Upon finishing this bizarre sentence she then looked up at me, her eyes slowly turning back to a chocolate colour. "This place it's just like my parents old summer house" she told me. Shit. Major shit. I ran my fingers through my hair thinking things through. How had this even happened? I had felt a bit…odd when thinking about the place I wanted and she had somehow come through in my thoughts. I thought I had pushed them out but, Merlin, how had this even happened? What was going on? As I looked over at Ally a thought slowly began pushing its way into my mind. A horrible, girly, lame, thought. Maybe this was meant to be.

**Ally's POV**

I needed to calm down and get in control. It had been three years, nearly four now and I really needed to start getting a better grip of these sort of things. The boys hadn't know anything about this and there was no point spoiling everybody else's evening with my own personal problems. I stood up straight and took a couple of deep breaths, before I looked over at Sirius who was looking at me weirdly.

"I'm really sorry Ally" he said quietly, and I could see in his eyes he truly meant it despite not having anything to do with it.

"It's fine. Really. It's not your fault is it" I told him honestly with a small smile. He returned it but still seemed a bit unsure.

"Honestly. It's been three years now, nearly four. I need to start getting on with things" I told him, my voice going much quieter towards the end.

"Only if you're ready" he said, his voice low and he took one of my hands in his.

"Oi. Love birds. We're doing shots" Fiona yelled at us from inside, making us both jump. I blushed at her remark and quickly moved towards the others.

**Lizzy's POV**

Merlin. I had drunk a lot. I blinked a couple of times in order to try and see a bit better which just made Ally next to me start laughing. She was really, very drunk. It was actually quite funny. I had never seen her like this and she was great fun when she had a drink in her (not that she wasn't usually fun but drunk was just a whole other level). I can't quite remember how we ended up drinking as much as we had, but as I looked around the room I surveyed a couple of empty Firewhiskey bottles alongside a few empty mead bottles (don't even ask about the mead).

"Lizzy Mews. Your glass is looking far too empty" James said from beside me. I turned my head in the direction of the table trying to locate my glass. "It's in your hand" James laughed and I looked down to see that it was indeed in my hand and it did look rather empty. He didn't take it off of me to pour some in but rather put his hand over mine to steady it. I blushed at the contact, and then wondered why I had blushed. I looked up at him to see him grinning at me and he winked. Again, I felt a faint heat rise in my cheeks and looked suddenly away. On doing so I noticed Ally and Sirius talking and laughing (or as I like to call it, flirting outrageously) and smiled to myself. Fiona and Remus looked deep in conversation, with Fiona nudging him in a very Fiona-flirting kind of way. Luckily, I don't think James had noticed as he had previously been talking to Peter.

"Sirius old chap. Your glass is looking empty" James said, wobbling away from me to go and refill Sirius's glass. I chuckled, and then wondered what I was chuckling at. Oh dear Merlin, I think I was far drunker than I would have liked to be.

"What was all that about?" Ally tried whispering beside me. I looked over at her to see a huge smile on her face.

"What what was about?" I asked her confused, frowning.

"You and James" she said simply. Again I blushed and again I tried thinking why I was blushing. "Oh my gosh you liiiiike him" she said in a sort of sing song voice, much louder than I would have liked.

"Shush he might hear you!" I said, equally as loudly. "And I don't anyway. He likes Lily" I said, trying to get my point across in a somewhat coherent manner.

"Pfff" was all Ally managed to get out, shaking her head. She attempted to get up and promptly fell back down. She muttered under her breath in French and I giggled. As I took a sip of my drink (which I would definitely regret in the morning) I was hit by the most amazing idea.

"I totally have the most amazing idea" I told the room at large. Everybody stopped talking to look at me. I managed to slowly stand up as I proposed it;

"We should definitely play hide and seek". At my suggestion everybody looked enthused and slowly began to stand up.

"Oh I love this game" Alice slurred over from the corner.

"Right we should play only on this floor and the floor below it, that way it's easier for the person finding us" I said, trying to be sensible and figure out the logistics of the game.

"Whatever come on let's go!" Ally moaned, already standing at the door.

"Who's going to be on though?" I asked confused. Had we already sorted that out?

"SHOTGUN NOT" Ally yelled quickly. Everybody followed in quick succession…apart from Peter who looked a bit dumbfounded as he stood there swaying.

"Count to 100!" I shouted back as I started running towards the door. Ally was already gone and so had most of the boys. Frank had to help Alice along who was giggling a lot.

Everybody had long disappeared when I went out so I slowly made my way down the corridor, thinking that Peter would probably start on the second corridor. I looked around but could see no hiding places that would be acceptable and so I stopped and thought.

"Lizzy. Get in here" somebody hissed from my right and before I could turn or say anything somebody had very unceremoniously dragged me into a crack in the wall; one I hadn't previously noticed. I wobbled slightly and a pair of hands steadied me. I squinted up to see James grinning down at me. I suddenly was aware of how close we were and I felt a bit uncomfortable as my mind flashed to Lily.

"I'll go find somewhere else" I said quietly and began to move. However, James grabbed me by the arm which only made me wobble some more.

"Peter will be coming any second, you might as well stay here" he told me, whispering quietly. He pulled me further in which only made us stand ever closer. "Just stay quiet" he said, and we were so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I couldn't help the blush that rapidly hit my cheeks and I looked down to try and sort myself out. This was James Potter. Come on Lizzy. Get yourself together. "Lizzy?" I heard him question. I was starting to feel very lightheaded and the small space we were in was making me feel slightly claustrophobic.

"I don't feel well" I told him and, to my surprise, he laughed.

"That could be because you've had an awful lot to drink" he told me, keeping his voice quiet.

"So have you!" I exclaimed, moving my head too quickly which made everything spin. I put my hand to my head and closed my eyes. However, James slowly pulled my hand away and I squinted as I opened my eyes. He was looking at me weirdly and he slowly began to move closer to me. My heart rate sped up. When he was inches away from me he stopped, and it seemed he was unsure. He looked like he was about to say something but before he could, I closed the distance between us and kissed him.

**Allys POV**

Running along corridors was going much slower than usual and my head was spinning. I couldn't help but giggle as I started trying to find somewhere to hide.

"Ally get over here" I heard someone tell me. I spun around, a bit too fast, and giggled as everything started spinning again. I attempted to look up and saw Sirius grinning at me (well, I could sort of see two Sirius's). He none too kindly pulled me into a room which I hadn't noticed at all; it had just looked like part of the wall. He stopped pulling me and left me standing there and started walking around the room, touching the walls. I watched him bemused until he seemed to find what he was looking for.

"After you" he said with a grin, pulling open yet another door I hadn't noticed. I steadied myself and just looked at him.

"What on earth?" I asked him and he just chuckled.

"Come on! Pete will be coming soon" was all he replied and I slowly made my way over, cautiously peeking through the door.

"It's a cupboard" I said, looking up at him. He looked like he was about to reply but then all of a sudden he stood stock still and I turned to the direction he was looking at; the movement causing everything to start spinning.

"He's coming" he whispered quietly and sure enough I could hear footsteps coming somewhat cautiously down the corridor. This just made me start laughing as the silliness of the game kicked in.

"Be quiet and get in!" Sirius told me and, quite unceremoniously, he shoved me into the cupboard.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as I stumbled in and nearly fell over a random bucket. Sirius righted me quickly and then pressed his ear against the door. I attempted to move over to where he was stood but knocked over a mop this time.

"Ally! Stand still!" Sirius told me with a small chuckle. I also put my ear against the door and tried to stand quietly. I listened closely as I heard footsteps out in the corridor where they seemed to suddenly stop. A second later the door of the room opened cautiously and somebody came in. I couldn't help, I really couldn't but the laughter came almost instantly. I put my hand over my mouth to try and stop it which only made me want to laugh more. I looked up to see Sirius just looking at me amused but he stayed where he was and his eyes grew suddenly wide and he very slowly stepped away from the door, dragging me as far back as the cupboard went; which really wasn't very far. This resulted in us standing very close, and having noticed this myself, it seemed that Sirius too noticed it. He shifted a bit in a somewhat awkward manner which just made me feel uncomfortable; it was obvious he didn't want to be here. I moved away from him, going to stand by the door again, trying to be as quiet as I could hear somebody still moving about in the room.

"Ally" I heard him say but I shook my head and avoiding eye contact put my finger on my lips and nodded my head in the direction of the door to indicate that there was still somebody there. I turned away from him and put my ear to the door, the footsteps getting louder the longer I listened. I was so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed Sirius move and when I tried backing away from the door I ended up backing into him. For some reason, my heart rate increased very suddenly and I retreated back to the door but he grabbed hold of me and kept me where I was. Slowly, he turned me round and I found myself staring at his chest. I tried distracting myself by listening for the footsteps which seemed to now be moving away from where we hidden. However, my attention was soon diverted when Sirius very softly traced the line of my jaw before very slowly tilting my head upwards so that I was looking straight at him. He didn't say anything instead he moved his hand to my back and pulled me even closer towards him, so there was no longer any distance between us. He gave me a small crooked smile which I know made me blush and then he started coming closer to me and I caught my breath. He was just inches away from me now when he paused and looked straight at me. I looked straight back and knew exactly what I wanted right at this moment in time; and that's when he closed the remaining distance and kissed me and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back.


	27. Dates and Revelations

A/N: Sorry for the delay in this, lost most of the chapter a couple of days ago so had to re-do it all! Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

**Ally's POV**

Eurgh my head. I moved very slowly so as to not hurt it too much and in doing so I heard a low chuckle.

"Morning sunshine" Lily said. Loudly. Far too loudly. I just groaned in reply which only made her laugh more.

"What time is it?" I managed to ask her, very slowly sitting up and squinting in the bright light.

"Just gone ten" she informed me. Eurgh. I now found that I didn't actually care – I was in far too much pain. My mouth was parched and for some reason my muscles all ached. Too much drink was consumed last night. If Phil and Sarah knew, or even Max they would be very annoyed, or maybe even worse, disappointed.

"I feel so ill" came Alice's voice as she emerged from the bathroom. She did looked pretty ill and she slowly walked over to her bed before curling herself into a ball and seemingly going back to sleep. I could hear Lily trying to laugh quietly; I'm glad she found this all highly amusing.

"I need more sleep" I told her, lying back down.

"No breakfast?" she asked and I groaned.

"The thought makes me feel sick." Lily just chuckled again and I could feel her get up.

"Well I'll leave you all to suffer. Have a nice day in bed" she told us, still laughing as she left the dormitory. Eurgh. Definitely needed more sleep to shake this.

Next time I woke up it was pretty dark and I assumed that somebody had closed the curtains to stop the sunlight streaming in. I sat up and was relieved to find that I didn't feel sick any more. Looking round I found what had woken me up; Fiona was emerging from the bathroom still looking a bit worse for wear.

"I can't believe I still feel bad" she muttered to me as she clambered back into bed. I glanced over at my clock and was shocked when I discovered that it was actually eight pm. How on earth had I slept that long? "How are you feeling anyway?" she continued, fluffing up her pillows and sitting up wrapped in her duvet in bed.

"Better than I did this morning that's for sure" I told her with a small smile. She laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Did you have a good night?" she asked me, looking, for some reason, hesitant. I smiled as the memories from last night came flying back in an instant. "Well, after that smile it would seem like a stupid question" Fiona told me, before I had a chance to reply.

"It was a good night; did you have a good one?" I asked her in return, deflecting the attention. I was surprised to find that Fiona actually blushed at my question and ducked her head.

"Oh Ally. I did something silly" she muttered, glancing at the still sleeping forms of Alice and Lizzy.

"Oh, and what would that be?" I asked her, very curious at her obvious embarrassment. She shook her head and didn't look at me which only heightened my curiosity. However, I knew what Fiona was like and so didn't say anything; merely waiting for the time when she could no longer hold it in and would eventually blurt it out.

"Yeah Fi, what did you do?" came a low grumble from the floor. Looking to my right I could see Lizzy sitting up, hair ruffled and still looking quite sleepy. She got up slowly and budged me up, making me move so that she could clamber into my bed. It looked as if Fiona's blush deepened as she finally looked up.

"I thought you were asleep" she said to Lizzy, raising an eyebrow. Lizzy shrugged.

"I was but your talking woke me up" she replied. "Anyway, what did you do?" Lizzy pestered her, and the faint pink colour returned to Fiona's cheeks. She mumbled something that I couldn't make out.

"What?" Lizzy asked her, frowning and looking confused. She looked at me but I just shrugged; being none the wiser myself. Fiona took a deep breath before she looked us straight in the eye.

"I kissed Remus." There was a few seconds silence and then me and Lizzy both erupted with laughter.

"What's going on?" came a sleepy voice, and turning round, I could see Alice sitting up looking very groggy.

"Fiona kissed Remus" Lizzy told her in a very sing-song voice. Alice seemed to wake up very quickly at this news and sat up in bed, looking at Fiona with wide eyes.

"No way?" Alice exclaimed, gazing at Fiona. Fiona ducked her head and avoided making eye contact with us but nodded nonetheless.

"How did that even happen?" Lizzy asked her and it took a minute before Fiona looked back up at us.

"I don't even know. One minute we were running about trying to find somewhere to hide and the next minute we're crammed into this broom cupboard and we were stood really close to each other and…yeah…" Fiona trailed off, looking embarrassed again.

"Do you like him?" I asked her bluntly and she looked up, her eyes wide. There was complete silence in the room and I could see Fiona having some sort of internal argument.

"I…I don't know. Maybe. Yes. No. Oh I don't know." Fiona looked very confused and was shaking her head.

"I think you might do, I mean, you did kiss him" Alice said softly. Fiona said nothing but sat there for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't say anything more on the matter and I figured she would talk to us when she wanted. Lizzy, however, seemed to want to pursue the subject.

"Was he a good kisser?" she asked, looking highly interested.

"Lizzy!" Alice exclaimed, although she did have a small smile on her face.

"What? I'm just asking what you were thinking" she replied with a smirk. She turned to Fiona who looked bemused by what was going on. Very slowly she nodded her head and blushed as Lizzy burst out laughing.

"I think you do like him you know Fi" Lizzy told her with a smile. Fiona just sighed and flopped back on her bed.

"I can't believe I still feel this bad. I mean, seriously. How much did we drink?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I should probably head back to my own dorm to be honest" Lizzy said, heaving herself out of my bed. "Eurgh. I'm going to go quickly so as to not embarrass myself. I'll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow!" Lizzy flashed us a quick smile before she dashed out of the dormitory at top speed.

"She moved far too quickly for somebody who consumed a lot of alcohol last night" Alice remarked, laying back down on her bed. I followed her lead and curled up, surprising myself by actually being tired.

"Anything happen your end Ally?" Fiona asked me, mid-yawn. I could feel myself dropping off already and so was simple in my reply.

"I'll tell you over breakfast."

"Morning" Lily greeted me in a whisper as she pottered about making her bed and packing her school bag.

"Morning" I replied, feeling chipper as I quietly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

"I'll meet you downstairs" Lily told me and I nodded my head in agreement, very much looking forward to having a shower after my day in bed yesterday.

"Feeling better then?" Lily asked me with a grin as we made our way down to breakfast with Remus.

"Much. Honestly Lils, if you had been there I wouldn't have been so bad" I told her with a smile and she rolled her eyes at me. "Anyway, how was your night with Luke?" I asked, remembering why she didn't come along in the first place. I saw a small smile appear on her face and took this as a very good sign.

"Really good actually" was all she said, looking like she had drifted off into a bit of a daydream.

"Did you have a good night Remus?" I asked him, unable to keep the huge grin off my face. He blushed ever so slightly and looked down at his bag, pretending to alter his strap before he looked up again with a composed face.

"Yeah it was good" was all he said, and when Lily had turned away he shook his head with a frown. I just smiled widely at him, finding it far too amusing.

When we entered the Great Hall Lily quickly scanned it before he eyes rested on Luke.

"Go sit with him" I told her with a nudge and she turned to look at me.

"No, no it's fine I'll sit with you" she said, her eyes still on him.

"Go on. I insist" I replied, pushing her in that general direction. She gave me a quick smile before she dashed off leaving just me and Remus. We said nothing until we were seated at the table and sitting opposite Remus, I could see him bracing himself.

"So. Fiona aye?" I asked him as I began to pour myself some cereal. He sighed, but I noticed a smile appear on his face.

"What about Fiona?" he asked, acting innocently.

"You know what" I told him with a grin and he shook his head.

"No idea" he said, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Stop being lame. I know you two kissed. Spill. Do you like her?" I asked him quickly, seeing a faint hint of colour flood to his cheeks at my words. He sighed and looked up at me.

"I don't know" he told me slowly, taking a mouthful of bacon before continuing. "I mean. I think I do but…well, I don't think she likes me. She probably only kissed me because she was drunk" he told me quietly, and I was momentarily surprised by his lack of confidence.

"Why on earth wouldn't she like you?" I exclaimed and he smiled at me.

"I don't know. We've known each other for years but mainly because of James. So she probably just sees me as a friend" he told me. I could see where he was coming from but from talking to Fiona last night I had the feeling that she did like him but something was holding her back.

"Well, I guess only time will tell" I told him, and he smiled at me before continuing with his breakfast. We sat in silence for a bit until he had pretty much inhaled his food and Remus sat back looking much happier.

"Anyway, enough about me. Sirius is horribly happy" he said with a grin. Unsurprisingly I couldn't help the blush that appeared which only widened his grin. "I think he was genuinely slightly disappointed that he didn't see you yesterday" he continued, obviously enjoying himself. I frowned at this, looking slightly sceptical but he shrugged, "It's true. Just you wait and see" he said, saying no more on the subject. I was about to ask him a question when my attention was diverted in the form of Alice and Fiona taking a seat either side of me, looking very happy. Fiona blushed slightly as she looked up at Remus who reacted in the same manner; it was very amusing. I avoided eye contact with Alice as I knew it would only make us both laugh and instead poured myself a glass of orange juice.

"I can't believe I'm up this early" Fiona told us, sounding quite disappointed with herself.

"Well we did spend the day in bed to be fair" Alice replied, still avoiding eye contact with me. "How you two do this every day is beyond me" she continued, glancing at Remus and me. I caught her eye and I could see her mouth twitch but she managed to hold the laughter in. I could see Remus look between the two of us and he began to look uncomfortable. He quickly scanned the Hall and looked relieved as his gaze turned towards the entrance.

"I'm guna go see the guys. See you in class" he said quickly and before we could reply he took off up the table to where the Marauders were currently standing.

"That was so awkward" Fiona groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"I do think that's partly our fault" Alice told her, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"Guys! You're meant to be helping me!" she exclaimed, looking slightly distraught.

"Just act normal around him, like you usually would. Then it won't be awkward" I told her and she frowned, seemingly thinking it over.

"I guess. As long as other people are around it'll be okay, right?" she asked the two of us and we nodded, keen to keep her happy. "Great. Anyway, what did you have to tell us?" she asked, looking up at me with a grin.

"Huh?" I replied, not knowing what she was talking about.

"Last night, you said you would tell us in the morning what happened Saturday night" she informed me and the faint memory came back to me; I was on the verge of sleep ridiculously quickly and had in truth forgotten about that. However, remembering what it was about made me blush a little as I was unsure how they would react; I had a feeling it would be quite loud.

"Well. I sort of…" I started, not quite knowing what to say.

"You kissed Sirius didn't you?" came Lizzy's voice from behind me. I jumped in shock as I had been completely unaware of her presence up until now. "Lizzy you scared the life out of me!" I told her as she laughed, taking a seat next to Fiona.

"Well? Did you?" she asked, her eye lit up and a huge knowing smile on her face.

"Yes" I answered and as predicted it was a loud reaction.

"SERIOUSLY?"

"I KNEW IT!"

"AT LAST"

All three of them spoke at the same time and rather unfortunately attracted a lot of attention.

"Guys!" I said quietly, trying to stop their gleeful outbursts. I glanced quickly around the Hall, my eyes eventually falling on Sirius. When he saw me looking he sent me the regular crooked smile accompanied by a wink and I surprised myself by sending him a cheeky smile back; which only made him smile even more by the looks of things.

"I just can't believe it took the two of you so long" Lizzy said, bringing my attention back to the girls. "So what now?" she asked, looking far too excited for my liking.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, feeling somewhat confused.

"Well, are you guna go out with him? Like be his girlfriend and stuff?" she asked. Lizzy truly did have a knack for being excessively blunt at times. I blushed and looked down. In truth, I hadn't thought that far ahead at all. I didn't know what Sirius was like. Would he want that? Or was I just another girl that he had kissed? I sat in thought for a few moments before I was brought back to the present by the sound of the bell. I jumped and looked up at the girls who had evidently resumed talk among themselves when I had failed to respond.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to see how it goes" Fiona told the other two who nodded in a serious fashion. I had no clue what they were talking about but they began to get up anyway and I followed their lead.

"Ally?" Lizzy said quietly next to me as Alice and Fiona fell into step together just in front of us.

"Yes?" I replied, curious as to why she was talking so quietly.

"Can I talk to you later about something?" she asked, looking embarrassed.

"Sure you can" I said, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled in thanks but said nothing else and I wondered what on earth she would want to talk to me about.

Transfiguration flew past ridiculously quickly and before I knew it I was on my way to Charms. Whereas in the past this had been a good thing, today I was ridiculously nervous; this was the lesson in which I sat next to Sirius. However, when we arrived at the classroom I noticed that all the tables had been pushed to the side to make more space in the centre of the room. I couldn't decide whether I was relieved by this or disappointed and ended up spending the rest of the lesson with my head in the clouds and not paying much attention.

"What's up?" Lizzy asked me as we picked our stuff up and made our way out of the classroom. I shrugged, not saying anything; if it was unclear and confusing to me it would be hard to explain it to her. I was just about to say goodbye to Lizzy and make my way back to the common room with Lily when I felt somebody tap me on the shoulder. I spun quickly to find myself looking at Sirius.

"Can I have a quick word?" he asked me, looking nervous.

"Um, yeah, sure" I told him before turning to Lily, "I'll meet you in the common room" I said and she smiled and nodded before moving away. I was surprised to find that we were actually completely alone now as everybody had moved off to their next class. He looked down and shuffled his feet somewhat anxiously before looking at me, smiling.

"I'm not quite sure how to say this" he started, running a hand through his hair. It made me nervous to see him nervous and I stayed quiet, unsure if I needed to say anything. He seemed to take a deep breath before looking directly into my eyes.

"I really like you Ally. I don't think I've felt this way about anyone before. And I don't want to freak you out or anything like that by saying it but I…well I don't know but I just want you to know that. And I was wondering if…well you see I want to do this properly. So I wondered if maybe you would come on a date with me?" It took me a few seconds to digest what he said and he looked thoroughly nervous the whole time. He actually liked me, well he said he did. I started to think that maybe I wasn't just another girl he kissed, maybe he actually meant it. As these thoughts whirled around in my brain my heart seemed to speed up and I could feel the smile appearing on my face.

"I'd really like that" I told him at last and he seemed to let out a breath he had been holding in. His smile was huge, and I'm pretty sure mine was too.

"Great. That's great. Friday? Dinner? About 7?" he asked me eagerly and I nodded before it sunk in what he said. I frowned and he laughed, a genuine, proper, happy, laugh. "Leave it with me" he told me with a cocky smile.

"Friday it is then" I told him with a smile.

**Lizzy's POV**

Sirius may have had a right telling off for being ten minutes late but he was still ridiculously happy. He had informed us of his conversation with Ally as soon as he had arrived and I was genuinely happy for the both of them; it was clear that they liked each other so I was glad that had both finally sorted themselves out. Classes went quickly and before I knew it we were sat down at lunch with Ally and Lily.

"You alright?" Ally asked me from across the table, a slight frown on her face. I nodded and pretended to listen to what the other girls were talking about. I had so far managed to avoid all contact with James; conversation, eye contact, everything. I was so embarrassed, even more so by the fact that it was me who initiated the kiss. I was such a fool.

"Meet me after class?" she asked me a few minutes later, a smile on her face.

"Won't you be going to the library with Will?" I asked her, hoping that she would say yes, despite the fact that I did want to tell somebody; it was killing me keeping it a secret.

"The library can wait" she replied, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Sure, you have Ancient Runes don't you?" I asked her and she nodded. "I'll definitely meet you there; any chance to see Professor Ford" I told her with a cheeky smile, looking across at said Professor as I said this. She laughed and shook her head,

"I'll wait for you there then" Ally said, turning back to her food with a smile. So, now I had one lesson in which to find a way to word the fact that I had kissed James Potter.

Professor Smith, our muggle studies teacher, let us go early and so I loitered outside the Ancient Runes classroom thinking over what I might say. I sighed and leaned back against the wall, figuring that I would just have to go with the flow. As I thought this, the bell rung and a few seconds' later people started coming out.

"Hi Lizzy. What are you doing here?" Lily greeted me in slight surprise.

"Just waiting for Ally" I told her, and she nodded.

"Well I'm off to the library, I'll see you at dinner" she said with a smile before departing.

"I'll meet you after dinner then?" I heard Ally's voice as she finally appeared with Will.

"Yeah sure" he replied with a smile.

"Hi Lizzy" he greeted me. Dam, that boy was so hot.

"Hi Will" I replied, smiling at him.

"Well I'll leave you two to it" he said with a cheeky smile before sauntering off. I watched him go before Ally's cough brought me back to the present. I turned round with a grin,

"I can't help myself sometimes!" I told her and she just laughed. We started ambling along, not quite sure where we were going in silence for a while and I was thinking about what I was going to say to her.

"I can't believe how much we drunk the other night" she said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I chuckled a little at the memory.

"You were far too funny. Especially when you started trying to get up and falling down whilst muttering to yourself in French" I told her, the memory making me laugh even more.

"Oh don't! I'm such an embarrassment!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening at what I had told her.

"It was very funny, but don't worry it was only me who saw" I said reassuringly at her slightly horrified expression. She seemed a bit better after I told her this and laughed a little.

"It was a good night though wasn't it?" she asked me with a smile and I nodded.

"I still can't believe Fiona and Remus though" she continued, a cheeky smile on her face.

"I know! Do you reckon she likes him? Have you spoken to Remus?" I asked her, knowing that the two of them had been sitting at breakfast together before anybody else got there.

"I don't know, I think something's holding Fi back but I'm not quite sure why. And yes I spoke to Remus this morning and he seemed the same as her to be honest" she told me, a small frown on her face as she thought it over. "What do you think?" she asked me and I smiled,

"I reckon she does you know, I mean, the fact that she kissed him must mean something" I said and then stopped as the words I just said registered in my mind and I felt a faint blush appear on my cheeks.

"Yeah I guess that does count for something" I heard Ally reply; she was seemingly oblivious to my sudden discomfort. "So did you have a good night?" she continued now turning to look at me.

"Um yeah it was, yeah, good" I said, now struggling to form a sentence. What on earth was wrong with me?

"Sure?" she asked me, looking at me slightly concerned. I sighed and took a seat on the nearest window ledge. She joined me and sat, obviously waiting for me to tell her what was up.

"I kissed James" I blurted out. I covered my mouth with my hands immediately, slightly shocked at myself and I heard her gasp.

"WHAT?" she exclaimed very loudly; I was suddenly glad we had done this in a more private location. I nodded my head and groaned.

"I'm such an idiot. I don't even know how it happened or why or anything" I continued, letting out all my feelings. "I mean. He pines over Lily so much. I don't know what came over me" I finished, slumping against the wall.

"Do you like him?" Ally asked me softly, and I looked across at her to see a pretty neutral expression on her face. I shrugged. That was all I could say for now.

**James's POV**

As we entered the Great Hall for dinner I could see the girls sat at the bottom of the Gryffindor table all seemingly in a serious conversation. I turned to see Sirius frowning slightly at the apparent lack of welcome that Ally provided him and punched him.

"Man up" I told him before I took a seat at the top of the table and started to put some sausages on my plate.

"What's up with you?" Padfoot asked me. I shrugged but he continued, "Seriously?" he asked me, smiling at his choice of word. I sighed and put my fork down.

"Well, the other night me and Lizzy sort of kissed" I told him, deciding not to beat about the bush.

"Sort of?" he questioned.

"Well not sort of. We did kiss" I told him and he started laughing hysterically. "Why is this so funny might I ask?" I didn't find it that amusing to be honest.

"What's wrong with you kissing Lizzy? You're acting like you've just committed a serious crime!" he told me, still laughing. I thought over what he said and sort of could see where he was coming from. It was no big deal, right? "The only thing is, do you like her?" he asked me all of a sudden.

"What?" I asked equally as quickly, surprised by the question.

"That, my dear Prongs, was a very rapid reply" Sirius said with his eyebrows raised.

"No it wasn't" I countered, seeing exactly where he was going with this. He said nothing but smirked at me. Honestly, I didn't like her. Well. I don't think I did. I was pulled out of my musings by the appearance of Ally.

"I've been looking for you" she said, looking straight at me with a grin. It was funny watching Sirius's smile slide off his face at this.

"Well, can't blame you" I replied cheekily and she just rolled her eyes. "You guna join us?" I asked her and she looked round, signalling to somebody before taking a seat.

"Two minutes. I heard about you and Lizzy" she said quickly, watching for my reaction. Sirius burst out laughing all over again so I guess it was pretty much the same as when I had told him.

"He looks so guilty doesn't he?" he asked Ally who nodded but wasn't laughing.

"Why?" she asked me and I shrugged. "Do you like her?" she asked me.

"What?" was once again my reply, and again it was very rapid. Ally looked slightly pleased by this reaction. Honestly, what was with those two. "Oh I don't know. We were drunk weren't we?" I continued and Ally shrugged,

"I guess" was all she said, glancing down the table where the rest of the girls were. I followed her gaze and caught Lizzy's eye who blushed and looked away straight away. I looked back to find Ally looking at me with a small smile on her face; it seemed that she had seen what had happened just then.

"Right. I'd best go" she said suddenly getting up.

"Already?" Sirius asked her.

"I need to go do some work" Ally told us and I rolled my eyes as Sirius looked slightly disappointed.

"Really though?" he asked her and she nodded. "I'll see you in the common room later though?" he continued and she blushed a little. Merlin, I don't know what had gotten into my best friend. He was acting horribly girly.

"Sure. See you later boys" she said and with a departing smile she was gone.

"You really need to snap out of this" I told Padfoot, frowning.

"Snap out of what?" he asked, evidently confused.

"I'll see you in the common room later though?" I mimicked his previous comment in a high pitched girlie voice. He punched me for this.

"Owww! I mean it though. Cut it out. It's weird" I told him shaking my head. He laughed but nodded.

"Sorry mate. I don't know what's wrong with me" he said, although there was still a smile in place.

"Just, act normally. Ally doesn't mind" I told him and he nodded, eagerly tucking into his food now. I looked down at the table again and watched the girls (in a non creepy way). Did I really like Lizzy? As I thought this she looked up and caught my eye. This time she held it for a few seconds before sending me a small smile and turning away. Merlin, this was getting complicated.


	28. Anniversaries

**Sirius' POV**

Half past 2. Honestly. This was a joke. There was a storm raging outside but I normally slept right through all of this. I don't even know why I had woken up. I rolled over in bed but I felt like there was something bugging me. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep I decided to go for a wander round the castle, try and shake this feeling. I very quietly shoved a t shirt on before creeping over to James's bedside table where the map was. Very carefully I slid it off, almost knocking off a book in the process but thankfully he didn't wake up. Then, slowly and quietly I crept out of the dormitory and down the stairs. Once there I paused, thinking I had heard somebody move around. However, as I had a quick glance round I could see nobody and so very quickly stole across the common room and out of the portrait. This lack of sleep was getting ridiculous.

**Ally's POV**

I thought I heard somebody coming down the stairs and froze with my hand mid-page turning. I stayed motionless for a few seconds and in that time I saw somebody quickly walk across the common room and out of the portrait. How peculiar. I shook my head thinking nothing of it and my attention was diverted by a particularly loud clap of thunder outside. This was getting out of hand. I really needed to get over this storm problem I had; it was getting a bit pathetic. I sighed as I leaned back against the sofa as another flash of lightning illuminated the room.

"Ally?" came a voice from the stairs. I jumped, not expecting anybody to be around and saw James's sleepy figure stood there looking slightly confused.

"You scared the life out of me" I told him as he moved closer and flopped down on the sofa next to me. He ruffled his hair, sighing.

"Sirius woke me up" he grumbled, now staring into the fire looking thoroughly disappointed. Oh. I guess that was him I heard going through the common room a few minutes ago.

"Why are you up?" he asked me, looking at me with a frown.

"I just couldn't sleep" I told him with a shrug, trying to sound offhand about it all. It was getting hard trying to explain why I was down here so often.

"Nothing on your mind?" James continued, sounding a bit concerned. I hesitated for a second, maybe if I didn't tell him everything, just enough that he would stop asking questions.

"Promise you won't laugh?" I asked him and he nodded. "I sort of, don't like storms" I said, admittedly quite lame and didn't sound right when I said it at all.

"You're scared of them?" he questioned. I thought for a moment, knowing that it was more to do with the bad memories that I associated with them rather than being scared of the actual thing itself. However, this was far too much to divulge and so I said nothing, allowing him to come to his own conclusions. "I used to be the same" James told me and I looked up at him, surprised.

"You were?" I asked cautiously and he smiled and nodded. "But you better not tell anybody" he told me with a grin and I smiled back at him. We fell into a comfortable silence, our minds seemingly elsewhere. All of a sudden he sighed and I looked over to see him frowning and looking a bit unhappy.

"What's up?" I asked him. He said nothing, continuing to stare into the fire with his frown firmly in place.

"Do you think I'm a horrible person?" he finally asked me.

"No, of course not! What? Why?" I asked, completely confused as to why he would ask me that question.

"Because of what happened with Lizzy" he said. I was still confused.

"Why does that make you a horrible person?" I asked, hoping he would bring some clarity to the current situation. He sighed and leant back in his seat, staring at the fire.

"Because I pine over Lily and tell everybody how much I like her and then I go and kiss Lizzy" he told me, his hazel eyes concerned.

"That doesn't make you a horrible person" I told him, thinking things over. He looked at me for a moment or so longer before sighing again and closing his eyes.

"Why did you kiss her?" I asked him after a moment, slightly curious.

"I duno. We were drunk and we were hiding and we ended up close to each other and then it sort of seemed like the right thing to do at the time" he said, avoiding my eyes and gazing avidly into the fire.

"Do you think you might like her?" I asked him, wondering if his answer would be different to that I had obtained earlier.

"I really don't know. I feel horrible" he said, allowing a little emotion to show in his voice. I put a hand on his arm and he looked up at me.

"Honestly, you're really not a horrible person. You're one of the nicest people I know" I told him honestly, and he smiled at me. "Just, don't let things get awkward with Lizzy" I carried on, thinking about how worried she had been earlier.

"I won't, don't worry" James reassured me.

"Just carry on as normal I think. I know Lizzy was worried about it getting awkward as well" I told him, thinking it would be better if he knew this.

"Yeah. Carry on as normal" he muttered to himself, a frown reappearing on his face.

"Hey, no frowning" I told him jokingly, and he shook his head at me. "What?! I don't like to see you unhappy" I said truthfully. James was never down, always chipper and upbeat. "You know where I am if you want to talk though" I reminded him, nudging him slightly.

"I know" he smiled at me, although I could see he was preoccupied.

"Well I should probably go to bed, I've been up long enough" I said, getting up slowly and stretching, trying to ignore the sounds of the howling wind outside.

"Will you be able to sleep?" James asked, looking up at me in concern.

"Yeah I'll be fine" I told him, not totally truthfully and so I looked away over to the window to avoid eye contact. "Don't stay up too late" I told him with a grin and he chuckled.

"Just go to bed Ally" he told me, grinning up at me.

"Sleep well" I said, before heading off to the dormitory.

"You too Al" I heard him reply quietly.

**Lizzy's POV**

The week passed horribly slowly, probably because I was still wallowing in my own embarrassment. I had spoken to James like a normal person and had tried to forget about it but every time he so much as smiled at me, the whole memory came rushing back. I was still confused and didn't really know why I kept going back to it, I mean; I didn't like him, did I?

Finally Friday rolled round and as I entered the Great Hall and took a seat with the girls I knew instantly something was wrong; they all looked deep in conversation.

"What's up?" I asked them as I started piling some breakfast on.

"We don't know. That's the problem" Alice informed me with a frown.

"What do you mean?" I replied, completely confused by this reply. She sighed and as an answer nodded her head over to the Ravenclaw table. Turning, I scanned the table before I saw what she was referring to; Ally sitting with Luke.

"Yeah, I still don't get it" I told her. Ally regularly sat with Luke for food, I don't know why it was such a big deal now.

"Haven't you noticed how weird she's been these last couple of days?" Lily asked me frowning. I shrugged. Sure she had been a little quiet but then again Ally was like that. "Not noticed how tired she's been looking and how quiet she's been?" Lily continued, looking a bit annoyed at my lack of notice.

"Well sure she's been a bit quiet but she can be like that sometimes can't she?" I replied, slightly hesitantly. I had obviously been too preoccupied lately and was now currently wearing my bad friend hat.

"She left before I had gotten up this morning" Lily told me. This made me stop and my mind reeled back to the days after Chloe had blurted out her secret.

"Crap" I replied. I looked back over at the Ravenclaw table and watched Ally properly. She sat looking a bit dazed with a plate full of food in front of her but it was apparent she hadn't touched it. Luke was talking quietly to her but she didn't seem to be taking much notice. As I continued to watch, the post arrived for the morning and I was surprised to see a couple of owls landing in front of Ally. She looked hesitant about it and did nothing, which meant that Luke had to get her mail for her.

"Something's not right" Lily said, and I turned to see her watching Ally as well.

"Well there's mot much we can do if she doesn't come to us" I said with a sigh, knowing Ally far too well. I just hoped it wasn't anything too bad.

**Allys POV**

I just can't believe I had forgotten.

"You going to open those?" Luke asked me quietly. I turned slightly and could see him looking at me, concern etched all over his face. I looked down at the letters but was unsure whether I could handle opening them. I shook my head, but didn't say anything about them.

"I forgot Luke" I told him, keeping my head down.

"Oh Ally" was all he said, putting an arm around me. "They're probably so happy that you've been having such a great time here" he said in a low voice but I shook my head.

"No. I shouldn't have forgotten" I said, abruptly standing up. "I need some fresh air" I told him shortly, grabbing my school bag.

"Take these. Please look at them" he said, stopping me from walking off and pushing the letters into my hand. I didn't even look at them, just stuffed them into my school bag and continued to walk out of the Hall.

Once I was outside I slowed my pace down and walked over to the tree by the lake, sitting down on the grass. I just couldn't believe I had forgotten about today. The guilt was welling up inside of me, especially with the presence of the letters; they were indicators that other people had remembered. I closed my eyes only to see my nightmares flash up; the howling storm, the metallic screech. I opened my eyes rapidly and shook my head, trying to get rid of the memories. In the distance I heard the bell ring and sighed, guessing I should probably get a move on. I didn't quite know how I was going to get through the day.

**James' POV**

Something was definitely wrong. Up close Ally looked like she hadn't slept a wink last night. She was completely shut off and even her magic seemed to be effected by whatever had happened. Every time somebody had tried to speak to her she had seemed completely out of it.

"Your date isn't looking so great for this evening" Moony said to Pad as the bell rang for lunch. I turned and saw a mixture of confusion and what looked like disappointment on his face. He shrugged, choosing not to say anything on the matter.

"Maybe the girls will know what's wrong" I suggested, trying to lighten his mood a bit. Again he shrugged and began walking off. I glanced at Remus who also shrugged. Seemed like a shrugging day then.

**Allys POV**

"Go on. You need to eat something" Luke was continuing to say at regular intervals.

"Luke. I'm not hungry" I told him, wondering why I was even here. He sighed and put down his own knife and fork.

"Have you looked at the letters?" he asked me. I shook my head; I still hadn't quite worked up the courage to do so.

"I can't" I admitted to him and he sighed. I didn't want to look at him after admitting something like that.

"Ally, you need to stop beating yourself up" he said, his voice a little more firm than it had been.

"But I forgot" I repeated, for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"But you've never stopped thinking about them have you?" he asked me and I shook my head. "Well that's all that really counts" he said softly, and I looked up to see him smiling at me. "Your friends are worried about you, you know" he told me, and I saw him glance over at the Gryffindor table. I said nothing and Luke didn't go on about it. A few minutes later our silence was interrupted by the arrival of Lily.

"Hello, mind if I join you?" she asked, looking between me and Luke. Luke cast a quick glance at me and when I didn't say anything nodded, and Lily took a seat opposite us. There was a moment of silence in which, out the corner of my eye, I saw the two of them exchange a number of glances. I said nothing, my mind drifting to the letters still in my bag.

"I think I'm going to go and read my mail" I said quietly, and very abruptly. I had to do this.

"Oh no. Please don't go because of me" Lily said hurriedly, looking very worried.

"No, no. I need to anyway" I told her, attempting a smile. I glanced over at Luke and saw him smile at me.

"I'll meet you for dinner" he told me and I nodded in agreement. With that, I grabbed my bag and headed out of the Hall. I began to make my way in the general direction of the library where I knew I would be guaranteed to have some privacy. I hadn't been walking for very long when I nearly walked straight into somebody. Looking up I saw it was in fact Sirius.

"Oh, sorry" I muttered. All of a sudden, I remembered that tonight was supposed to be our first date. Another rush of guilt flew through me.

"That's okay. You alright?" he asked me, shuffling his feet somewhat awkwardly.

"Um, I'm not feeling so great actually" I lied, trying to avoid eye contact. "Do you mind if we postpone our date?" I asked him. I chanced a glance and saw the disappointment flash across his face.

"No. Course not. I hope you feel better soon" he told me quietly. Our eyes met and I couldn't seem to break the contact. He moved a step closer to me and I still couldn't quite move. He leant forward and pushed a stray hair out of my face. My breath caught at the simple contact.

"What's wrong?" he asked me softly, his hand reaching for mine. I shook my head,

"I'm sorry. I can't do this today" I told him, taking my hand back and before he could say anything I dashed away.

The letters hadn't made me feel as bad as I thought. I had one from Phil and Sarah, one from Max and Si and then one from Maddie and Joe. They were words of comfort and memories and it had helped a little. However, I still had an overwhelming feeling of guilt about forgetting their anniversary. I didn't eat anything over dinner with Luke, I just wasn't hungry. Thinking about what Luke had said earlier about my friends being worried about me put me off going to the common room. I needed some time alone. Instead, I excused myself from dinner early and headed to the astronomy tower – a place I seemed to occupy a lot.

I hadn't realised how long I had been up there when I heard movement coming from the stairs. I blinked and looked around, noticing how dark it had gotten and also how cold it had gotten. I shivered and looked towards the entrance. Now that I listened properly, I noticed how it didn't sound like a person coming up the stairs. A few seconds later I was completely surprised; in had bound a huge, black dog. I stared for a while; the dog just stood there wagging its tail, looking a bit hesitant.

"Sirius?" I asked and the dog just wagged its tail even more. All of a sudden I smiled, and laughed a little. The appearance of him here, in his animagus form lifted my mood slightly, and I had no idea why. He padded softly across the room and I bent down, unsure whether it was acceptable to stroke him. However, my unspoken doubt was answered when he lifted his head to my hand, showing me. Again, I chuckled and Sirius closed his eyes as I stroked his head. This was a bit weird. He seemed to be enjoying it however, and I sat on the floor, Sirius sitting next to me. He was radiating warmth so I edged a little closer. I sat there stroking him as my mind went back to what I had previously been thinking about. After a while, it seemed Sirius was uncomfortable and he lay down, putting his head on my outstretched legs. I looked down at him to see him looking up at me, and even now I could see it in his eyes that he was worried. I sighed and rested my head against the wall.

"It's my parents' anniversary today" I admitted to him quietly. I don't know why it was easier to say it to him whilst he was in animagus form, it just felt it. "And I forgot about it" I continued, my voice cracking slightly. I felt a change in pressure and I looked up to see Sirius had stood up. In the next few seconds I watched as the dog disappeared and I was left looking up at Sirius himself. He said nothing but sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me softly towards him. In that one moment, all the worry and guilt and sadness that had been building up inside me all day seemed to threaten to spill out. I concentrated on not crying; I didn't want to do so in front of Sirius.

"Everybody's been worried about you today" he told me quietly, gently rubbing my arm.

"Sorry" I replied, sighing.

"No don't be. You didn't have to tell anybody, it's up to you isn't he?" he said, somewhat reassuringly. I guess he was right. "Ally, you're freezing. I think you should come back to the common room. It's late and I'm sure there won't be many people around" he told me. I moved away from him and I could see the concern in his eyes. I nodded and took his offered hand to help me up. He didn't keep it and I followed him out of the astronomy tower.

When we reached the common room it was relatively empty as Sirius had predicted.

"You look like you need a good nights sleep" he said, looking closely up at me. However I shook my head, somewhat scared to go to sleep and face the impending nightmare.

"I'm guna stay down here for a while" I told him quietly, beginning to make my way over to the sofa in front of the fire.

"Do you want company?" he asked me, and I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

"That would be nice. But I don't want to keep you up" I told him with a smile. He returned it only too willingly taking a seat next to me. We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, in which I just gazed into the fire.

"What were your parents like?" Sirius asked me all of a sudden. I turned to look at him and he instantly looked worried. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. You don't have to talk about it or…I'm sorry" he gushed out very quickly. I smiled at him and shook my head.

"No it's fine" I told him, being honest. And it was true; it was fine. Receiving the letters today made me realise that one of the best ways to remember my parents was to talk about them. I had always shut everybody out but I realised that that wasn't going to help me. "Would you like to see?" I asked him cautiously. Maybe he was just being polite.

"If that's okay?" he questioned, still looking a bit hesitant.

"Sure. I'll be right back" I told him, whizzing up the stairs. I cautiously opened the door to the dormitory but saw that it was in darkness. I very quietly made my way over to my bedside table where I kept the album that Sarah and Phil had gotten me for my birthday. I made my way back out just as quietly and padded down to the common room and back over to the sofa. Sirius smiled at me as I sat back down and I shuffled next to him so he could see. I sensed him hesitating and the next moment I felt his arm coming over my shoulders. I was surprised by how much this move comforted me and I moved a little closer to him. I could sense his smile but said nothing as I opened my album and began to show him the photos.

**James' POV**

"Eurgh. Why?" was all Sirius said as I woke him up. To be fair it was half nine, it's not like it was early!

"Breakfast will be over in half an hour. Don't want to miss that do you?" I asked him, knowing what his response would be. He sat up, looking groggy.

"Fine. Give me a minute" he grumbled.

"Why are you so tired anyway? Where were you last night?" I shot at him, hoping he hadn't done something stupid in light of Ally cancelling their date last night.

"Breakfast" was all he replied as he stumbled over to the bathroom to shower.

"Well?" I asked him as he we took a seat at the table. The Hall was actually still quite full for some unknown reason. He grinned up at me and I groaned.

"Tell me you didn't do something stupid?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Prongs I'm offended you think so low of me" he replied with a frown. I was just about to respond when Moony appeared.

"Take your time. I've been sat with the girls this whole time" he complained as he took a seat. I glanced down the table and saw all the girls there, including Ally.

"How's Ally today?" I asked him.

"Yeah she seems alright. Bit quiet but alright" he remarked, glancing down the table.

"Anyway, as I was saying, where were you last night?" I asked Pad, turning back to him.

"Yeah, where were you?" Moony chipped in a frown on his face.

"I was with Ally" he replied simply, smiling (yes, smiling, not grinning as was normal).

"What?" I asked him. "Seriously?"

"Well, that is my name" he said with a grin. We just stared at him until he rolled his eyes. "Yes seriously" he said, not giving any more information.

"Are you going to tell us or what?" I asked him eventually.

"Well. You know I told you that she was a bit weird when she told me she wasn't feeling well?" he asked us and we both nodded. "Well, I noticed that she didn't stick around at dinner for very long so I decided to go and see where she had gone. So obviously I used the map and saw she was in the astronomy tower. I figured I'd leave it a bit and then I went up to see her…as Padfoot" he said with a grin.

"Er, why?" I questioned. Not quite seeing where this was going.

"Well seeing as she didn't seem to want to be around anybody I figured it might be better if I wasn't human so to say" he tried explaining. I still didn't get it but oh well.

"And? What did she do?" Remus asked, evidently just as intrigued as I was.

"She smiled, laughed and talked to me" he said simply with a somewhat cocky grin. I was just about to reply when we were joined by Fiona, Lizzy and Ally herself.

"Fancy doing something today?" Fiona asked us as she took a seat opposite. The girls followed suit and I saw Sirius grin up at Ally who smiled back at him.

"Like..?" I asked her and she shrugged.

"Anything!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "What were you going to do today?" Fiona asked, looking round at us. I shrugged,

"Not much I don't think" I told her and she looked disappointed.

"But you're the MARAUDERS! You're supposed to be always doing something" she moaned.

"Come on Fi. Let's just have a relaxing day" Lizzy interjected. I looked over at her but she seemed determined not to look at me. Definitely still a bit awkward there. Maybe I should talk to her about what had happened…

"Why don't we go outside?" I heard Moony suggest, pulling me from my musings.

"Yes! Outside!" Fiona replied enthusiastically, already getting up.

"How do you have so much energy?" Sirius asked her, remaining in his place.

"How do you not have so much energy?" she countered, poking her tongue out. He chose not to respond, instead just getting up.

"I need to grab a jumper" he told us. I frowned at him.

"It's May now. Why would you need a jumper?" I asked him, utterly confused.

"It looks crap" he said, nodding up at the ceiling. We all looked up and frowned; it did look a bit cloudy out.

"I should probably get a jumper too" I heard Ally say quietly. I looked across at her to see her frowning up at the ceiling. I looked at Sirius who looked very happy at this outcome.

"We'll meet you outside" he said, turning to me, grinning. I rolled my eyes but grinned, honestly.

**Allys POV**

We walked out of the Hall in silence, and I was a bit unsure of what to say to him.

"How are you today?" he asked me, and I could hear the concern in his voice. I looked across at him to see a small frown on his face. I shrugged,

"I'm alright" I told him honestly. We had stayed up late enough that I at least went straight to sleep when I went up to bed, but flashes of my memories still showed themselves last night.

"Sleep okay?" he asked, obviously thinking along the same lines as me.

"As good as possible" I told him, looking away. We walked along in silence for a bit until I decided that it was probably about time that I apologised and thanked him for last night.

"About last night, I'm sorry. And thank you" I managed to get out really quickly. He stopped walking upon hearing this. I turned round to see him looking confused.

"Why are you apologising?" he asked me sincerely.

"Well you know, for being…lame" I told him. He shook his head,

"You weren't being lame at all Ally. Honestly" he told me, moving a little closer. I shrugged,

"Thanks for putting up with me anyway" I said quietly and he chuckled a bit. I looked up at him to see him giving me his usual crooked smile.

"I don't put up with you, I enjoy being with you" he told me, just as quietly as I had been speaking. He was looking at me with an intensity that made me blush and look away. I heard a small chuckle come from his direction at my reaction.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the freak and the traitor" came a sneering voice from behind Sirius. I looked up and saw him spin round, facing a boy whom I recognised to be a Slytherin. I was slightly taken a back by his comment but seemingly not as much as Sirius, from whom I heard a low growl erupt.

"Go to hell Regulus" Sirius spat. Oh. I guess this was Sirius' brother then. I hadn't heard much of him, just that he was part of the family that Sirius hated so much.

"Don't think mum and dad would think much of your taste" he commented, staring at me now. I avoided looking at him, and my attention was diverted to Sirius who had grabbed his wand from his pocket. "Going to curse your own brother?" Regulus mocked Sirius, the sneer returning to his face.

"You're no brother of mine" Sirius told him, his voice hard and cold. I hurried forward and put a hand on his arm.

"Come on, lets go" I told him quietly. I could feel him shaking with anger but he slowly lowered his wand.

"That's right. Do as you're told" Regulus continued to taunt him, trying to provoke him into action. His wand arm rose rapidly again but I carried on applying pressure.

"Come on. He's not worth it" I continued, trying to avoid a fight. "Sirius, please" I pleaded with him. The use of his name seemed to work and again he lowered his wand.

"Stay out of my life" was the last thing he said to him before turning around and motioning for me to come with him. I took one last fleeting look at Regulus who had a very ugly look on his face before I hurried off after Sirius. He seemed very angry and we walked in silence for a while, Sirius obviously trying to regain some sort of control. All of a sudden, he stopped walking abruptly; so much so that I carried on walking before I realised he had stopped. I turned and walked back to him, seeing the anger still visible on his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked him hesitantly, not sure if this would make him more angry. He took my hand and looked up at me,

"You're not a freak" he told me fiercely.

"It doesn't matter" I told him, shaking my head and looking away. He pulled me closer to him, forcing me to look up at him.

"It does. Don't let anybody let you think that" he replied, the same firmness to his tone. "Especially somebody like him" he added with a growl.

"Don't let him get to you" I said, noting the anger that had crossed his face as he had said that. Moving the subject away from me seemed to work nicely.

"He reminds me of everything I've been brought up to be" he muttered quietly, shaking his head and looking away from me.

"You're not like that, you know you're not" I told him, trying to improve his mood. "Don't let him ruin your day" I continued, seeing that I wasn't making much of a difference. He sighed but said nothing, instead giving my hand a squeeze.

"Hey Ally" came a voice from behind us. Turning I saw Will walking our way, smiling until he came a bit closer. I saw his eyes flicker down, where Sirius and I were holding hands. It was only a second where his smile disappeared but the next moment it was back in place, although seemingly not quite as genuine as before.

"Hi Will" I greeted back, still aware that I was holding Sirius' hand. I could see him grinning out of the corner of my eye and guessed that he was enjoying this.

"Sirius" Will greeted him with a nod of the head.

"Hi Will" Sirius said, very laid back. He was enjoying this far too much. I pulled my hand but Sirius held onto it firm. I turned to glare at him and he chuckled before letting it go.

"How are you?" I asked Will, spinning back round to face him. He raised his eyebrows at me and I could see him trying not to smile.

"I'm good. I'm glad I bumped into you actually. I'm going to head to the library after lunch if you want to join me?" he asked, now allowing the smile to break out on his face. He obviously knew what my answer would be.

"Do you even need to ask?" I replied and he laughed.

"I'll meet you in the Great Hall after lunch?" he questioned and I smiled at him.

"Sure, sounds like a plan" I told him happily and his smiled widened.

"I'll see you then. Have a good morning" Will said, sending me one last smile before disappearing down the corridor.

"I'm glad you found that amusing" I said, turning to Sirius to see him still grinning. He laughed and shrugged.

"I can't help it. Thought you said Masters was just your friend anyway?" he questioned cockily, knowing what the answer would be. I said nothing but began to walk again and he fell into step beside me. "You're not annoyed with me, are you?" he asked, breaking the silence. I turned to see him and he put on a sad look. I rolled my eyes and shoved him which made him laugh again. I couldn't help the smile that appeared.

"You know I'm not. Just, play nicely, alright?" I told him and he crossed his heart. I was glad that he was happier and seemed to have forgotten about Regulus.

"But that's boring" he replied cheekily. I turned to look at him, not amused but again, this made him laugh.

"Fine I'll be nice" he said, holding his hands up in surrender, as we continued our way up to the common room.

"Good, because he's my friend" I told him firmly.

"I know I know" he told me sincerely, and I could see him frowning out the corner of my eye.

"And you're frowning because…?" I asked him and he looked surprised as I turned to him. "Magic" was all I said with a grin and he smiled.

"Nothing, nothing" was his reply. He said no more so I didn't ask him any further.

"Hey Ally?" he said after a while. We were just outside the portrait to the common room at this point and I turned to face him – remembering another time we had stood outside the common room when we had been shut out…My mind trailed off and I realised that I hadn't replied.

"Oh right, yeah?" I said quickly and he smiled. He seemed a bit anxious and shuffled his feet a bit.

"I was wondering…it doesn't matter if you don't want to or anything…I don't want you to think I'm being insensitive.." he started rambling and I had no idea where this was going.

"Sirius?" I questioned as he started muttering. He stopped and smiled a bit sheepishly at me.

"Sorry. Well I was sort of wondering whether maybe you wanted to have our date tonight?" he asked me, looking very worried at this question. I barely had time to react before he had started speaking again "No I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to ask after yesterday and everything and-"

"I'd really like that" I interrupted him.

"-I know that you didn't sleep well and you'll probably want…Wait. What?" he seemed momentarily confused and I laughed.

"I'd like to go on a date with you tonight" I said quietly, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks as I said this. I looked at him and saw his whole face light up.

"Great! Great. So, dinner, tonight, 7?" he asked me and I nodded with a smile.

"Brilliant" he said, beaming at me. Truth be told, I was really looking forward to it.


	29. The Date

**Lizzys POV**

"As if you have a date tonight?! Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" I exclaimed, surprised that Ally had kept this quiet until now.

"Yeah, where was this information?!" Fiona also exclaimed, whacking Ally on the arm. Ally looked slightly embarrassed and out the corner of my eye I could see the boys looking in our direction.

"Because we only just arranged it, literally just now" she replied quietly, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Really?" Fiona questioned her, looking sceptical.

"Yes, really!" Ally replied, looking slightly offended by the question.

"Well, what are you doing? Tell us all!" I told her, moving on to the more important subject.

"Just dinner tonight" she told us, unable to stop a small smile spreading across her face.

"What do you mean just dinner?! This is a big deal…for Sirius at least!" Fiona exclaimed. Ally stopped smiling and frowned instead, looking slightly confused which was reflected in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked Fiona and I could see the latter grinning.

"He never takes girls on dates" she informed us. Even I didn't know this.

"Are you serious?" I asked her and she laughed.

"I'm not but he is" she said cheekily, motioning over her shoulder to where the boys were.

"Who is?" came a voice from behind us. We all jumped and as I looked up I could see Edward and Jacob standing there smiling down at us.

"Ally has a date tonight" Fiona burst out at them. I could see Ally blush as Edward and Jacob sat down on the grass next to us.

"Really, who with?" Jacob asked, interest apparent in his voice. They were both looking at Ally who looked slightly uncomfortable with the attention she was getting.

"Sirius" she said quietly, looking up at the two of them with a small smile. Jacob opened his mouth to say something but I saw Edward subtly nudge him and shake his head.

"Well you'll have to let us know how it goes" Edward said quietly with a smile. Ally looked relieved at their response and smiled warmly at them. "Anyway, I think we're going to go to the library for a couple of hours if you want to join us?" he continued, gesturing to himself and Jacob. Ally looked horribly pleased with this question and I could guess why.

"Yeah sure. I'll just grab my stuff and meet you there" she said happily, jumping up at once.

"No way! We need to talk dates!" Fiona whined, pulling at Ally's jeans.

"No, no I have work to do. I'll meet you there in a few" she said and before we could say anything else she had dashed off. Fiona turned to the boys looking very unimpressed.

"I think she's going to be very thankful that you've saved her" I told them with a grin. They both laughed and Edward shrugged.

"We'll get her back to you in a bit" he said with a smile as they both began to get up.

"You better" Fiona said warningly.

"See you two later" Jacob said and with one last smile they made their way towards the castle.

"Was I too full on?" Fiona asked once they gone far enough way, looking a little uneasy. I laughed but nodded my head nonetheless.

"Honestly? Yes. You know how quiet and reserved Ally can be" I told her an she sighed.

"I'll try and rein it in a bit. I'm just excited for them!" she said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. Well this would be interesting.

The day passed by pretty quickly; Ally had disappeared back to the library after lunch this time with Will. I watched Sirius carefully as she disappeared with him but he merely smirked, leaving me wondering what had caused that reaction. However, I didn't get a chance to find out as the boys had disappeared after lunch which left me, Fiona and Lily. We strolled leisurely around the castle for a while, chatting idly when we passed the library to see Ally emerging.

"Oh, hello stranger" I called out to her, turning to see her turn round with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Hi guys" she greeted us, stopping for us to catch up with her.

"Good day?" Lily asked her. Ally nodded, smiling away.

"Managed to get through a lot so it's been productive" she said happily.

"Where you off to now then?" Fiona asked, a glimmer of a smirk evident on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing. I sighed and watched as Ally blushed furiously.

"I was just, er, going back to the common room" she said evasively.

"Any reason in particular?" Fiona persisted.

"Fiona" I said warningly. Fiona laughed and held her hands up.

"Sorry, Ally" she said, a small smile on her face.

"I am definitely missing something" Lily said, looking very confused. I said nothing and nudged Fiona to ensure she didn't say anything. There was a small silence where Lily looked at each of us in turn. It wasn't our place to say so I waited to see what Ally would come up with.

"Well…um…earlier, Sirius sort of…well, he asked me out…on a date" she managed to get out in the end. Lily looked shocked, her mouth open.

"You off to get ready then?" I asked her, trying to avoid Lily rambling on in a shocked manner about Sirius and his state of affairs. Ally, however looked confused.

"I was just going to read for a bit" she said with a shrug, still looking slightly confused at the fact that we thought she would be getting ready. Fiona made an exasperated sound.

"As if" Fiona said, marching forward and taking Ally's arm.

"Come on girls, we have work to do" she called after her. Oh dear, I'm not sure how Ally would feel about this.

**James' POV**

"So, what are you doing? You haven't even told us" I asked Padfoot as he got ready for his big date.

"Dinner" was all he said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

"You going to give us any more than that?" Remus asked him with a grin. However, Sirius either didn't hear him or ignored him as we heard him rummaging around in the bathroom.

"Reckon he's nervous?" I asked Remus quietly, seeing him grin even wider.

"Of course. He's liked her for ages" he said with a chuckle. Sirius came back in the room, now throwing things out of his trunk.

"What you looking for?" I asked him casually, not wanting to put him on edge.

"Red check" he said simply.

"You've just chucked it out" I said to him and watch him stop, looking confused. He looked over at me and I pointed a couple of feet behind him. He chuckled lightly,

"Thanks mate. Don't know what's wrong with me" he said, chucking it swiftly on, shaking his head.

"It will be fine. You've both liked each other for ages – just act like you normally would. That's the key" Remus said knowledgeably. Sirius nodded along before looking at his watch.

"I'd better go. I'll see you later" he said, straightening his shirt a bit before giving us a somewhat nervous grin.

"Good luck" Remus told him with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah good luck" I repeated, unable to help grinning at him as he looked quite nervous. "You better tell us about it" I warned him and he chuckled.

"Sure I will. Try not to miss me too much" he said with a grin before he disappeared out the door.

**Ally's POV**

"You look great!" Fiona exclaimed as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"Honestly Ally, you really do" Lizzy chipped in. I wasn't so sure. The girls had taken ages helping me pick out something to wear and then sorting out my hair. I had never been on a date before and I had no idea what to expect or what was expected of me. Working in the library all day had allowed me to put my nerves at bay but now they had returned full blast.

"It'll be fine Al. Seriously, if I know Sirius it will be really fun and you won't have a chance to feel nervous" I heard Fiona say softly. I turned to look at her to see her smiling reassuringly at me.

"Anyway, you need to get going" Lizzy told me, looking down at her watch, "It's just gone seven and I'm sure he'll be waiting for you" she said with a smile. I said nothing but took a deep breath and walked over to the door.

"Promise you'll tell us all about it?" Fiona asked me. I turned to give her a smile,

"Sure I will" I promised her.

"Have a great time!" Lizzy exclaimed, looking far too happy about this.

"Good luck Ally, have a great time" Lily said quietly. I turned to look at her to see a smile on her face and I knew she genuinely meant it, despite her aversion to the Marauders. Seeing this, gave me a bit more confidence and with one last smile I left the room. I started making my way down the stairs but stopped about half way, the nerves catching up with me again.

"Alright scaredy cat?" came a slightly mocking voice from behind me. I turned to see James standing there with a grin on his face. "I thought you two would have gone by now so I assumed I would be allowed to go and scavenge some food" he said cheekily. I rolled my eyes but said nothing and he came and stood next to me. "Nervous huh?" he asked me quietly. I nodded my head and smiled up at him.

"He's nervous as well you know" he told me.

"Seriously?" I asked him doubtfully. I mean, this was Sirius Black after all. James chuckled as if he had read my mind.

"Seriously" he told me. "Now come on. You look great, get down the stairs and go and see him" James continued, giving me a playful nudge.

"Alright, alright!" I exclaimed and he laughed.

"Have fun" I heard him say as I continued down the stairs. I hesitated again as I was just about to go round the corner to the common room. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a second and then continued. I saw him standing just a few feet away from the stairs and he looked up as he heard my footsteps.

"Hi" I said quietly, going over to where he was stood. He smiled his crooked smile which made me instantly feel a bit more at ease

"Hi. You look…you look amazing" he managed to get out, making me blush. "Shall we make a move?" he asked, gesturing towards the door. I nodded and he stretched out his arm, indicating for me to go first. I walked quicker than I normally would have done out of the portrait and waited for him to appear him in the corridor.

"Sirius?" I questioned, thinking properly about our date.

"Yup?" he replied, now indicating which way we were walking as I fell into step beside him.

"Where are we actually going?" I asked him curiously. He laughed and I saw a mischievous glint in his eye.

"You'll find out soon won't you" he said cheekily, looking over at me with a grin. I smiled and shook my head.

We finally seemed to slow down and Sirius stopped at the end of a corridor and looked around.

"Wait here for one minute" he said to me happily before disappearing round the corridor. I didn't get a chance to say anything so stood there, anxiously pulling at my dress. However, before I had a chance to even wonder where he had gone he was back, holding out his hand. I hesitated slightly before I took it, which made him smile.

"It's just…here" he said, and out of nowhere a door seemed to appear out of nowhere, just where we were now standing. "After you" he said happily, dropping my hand and opening the door for me to go through. I stepped through and felt the shock course through my body. I heard Sirius enter behind me and as I turned to see him I heard him chuckle.

"I'll take the bright blue as a compliment" he said cockily, moving further in. I stayed where I was and took a proper look around. It was incredible; right in the middle was a huge, burning fire sending flickering light around the room. There was a wonderful, oak table with ornate chairs set around it. Around the room were large windows, spanning most of the length of the walls where, through them you could see the stars shining quite clearly, adding yet more light to the room. The whole effect was incredible and I started to wonder why this room was not used more often by the pupils and staff. I looked over to see Sirius watching me with a small smile on his face. He was stood with a chair pulled out and I assumed he was waiting for me. I blushed slightly at my own distraction and moved over to take a seat.

"Thank you" I said to him quietly as he moved to take a seat himself.

"First course, mushroom soup" he said, removing the lids of the dishes closest to us. I looked slightly amused at him and he looked questioningly back.

"How did you know?" I asked him with a smile, as he motioned for me to start eating.

"Know what?" he replied, although there was a ghost of a grin on his face.

"That mushroom soup is my favourite" I replied and he chuckled.

"Honestly?" he asked me and I nodded as I took a few mouthfuls of soup which was absolutely incredible.

"I sort of spoke to de Piesto…I mean Luke" he told me, quickly trying to skate over the surname bit. I literally stopped eating.

"You actually spoke to him?" I asked him, slightly shocked by the revelation; most of the boys seemed pretty intimidated by him whenever he had been around. He laughed at my reaction and nodded.

"I just wanted to make it a good date" he said quietly, his crooked smile back. He had actually done that for me? It was in that moment that it hit me; my feelings for Sirius ran deeper than I had originally thought.

Dinner with Sirius was going really well. We chatted away about anything and everything and it was really easy to talk to him. It was sort of just like a normal night except it was just me and him…and seemingly all my favourite food. For our main course we had had paella which I would never have seen coming. I needed to remember to thank Luke later for being so nice – he could have his moments. Sirius then proceeded to produce desert which I think he knew without having to ask was chocolate fudge cake. I have no idea how I had fit it all in but Sirius seemed impressed. We had remained sat at the table after we had finished eating and just chatted away. Occasionally Sirius would go over to the fire and put on another log to keep it going. We had lapsed into a comfortable silence, both sat watching the fire. I thought over the evening and smiled to myself; I had really enjoyed it and I was happy at how easy it had been to talk to him. I could imagine the girls staying up and waiting for me to get back to tell them all about it. I could also imagine that if Sirius had gone to Luke about this then Luke most definitely would have written to Max and he would have told Sienna. This meant that I would probably have a letter in the post at some point – especially if I didn't get one out within the next few days. I wondered if they would have then told Sarah and Phil and how they would have reacted…which then led me onto thinking about my parents. I gave my head a small shake as I refused to let myself go down that path tonight – especially when I was having such a good time.

"Ally?" I heard Sirius calling me, pulling me from my musings. I turned to see him watching me.

"Yes?" I responded, giving him a small smile by way of apology for completely zoning out.

"Have you had a good night?" he asked me quietly, and almost slightly shyly.

"I've had a really good night" I told him honestly, watching his face break out into a smile.

"Do you want to, maybe have another date. You know, not right now obviously but like in a week or something?" he asked me, fidgeting with his hands and still looking slightly nervous. I found it odd that he would be nervous, especially after what everybody had been saying and what I had heard.

"I'd really like that" I told him, and again his crooked smile appeared. He seemed very happy with this as he looked down at his watch. However, his smile was then replaced with a frown.

"Crap. We're going to have to go if we don't want to be caught for being out of bounds" he said, jumping out of his seat. I didn't realise it was that late; the time had flown by. I made my way to stand up as Sirius muttered a quick spell to extinguish the fire.

"I didn't think the Marauders ever got caught" I said with a grin as I waited for him. He chuckled lightly as he turned to me,

"It's more for your benefit" he said with a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes as he moved towards the door, holding it open for me. "After you" he motioned with a smile. I took one last look around the room before I slipped through the door and into the slightly colder corridor. I shivered slightly as the air rushed over me and felt Sirius come and stand quite close to me. I looked up at him but he didn't say anything, instead he looked down. Following his gaze I saw his hand outstretched next to mine. I looked back up at him to see him smiling his crooked smile as I slipped my hand into his. We walked in silence for a while, hand in hand down the corridors.

"Reckon they're all sat up waiting?" Sirius asked me, breaking the silence. I chuckled as I could picture the scene quite easily in my head.

"Knowing Fiona? Probably" I told him and I could hear him laugh.

"I know she wasn't very happy when you disappeared to the library for pretty much the whole day" he informed me and again, I laughed.

"You know what she's like" I told him with a small shrug. "She just gets far too excited about things" I said, thinking about the many occasions she had gotten excited about something or another.

"You're telling me" Sirius said laughing. "You should have seen her over the build up to New Years. She was round every day asking us about dresses. I mean, seriously. Why on earth would you ask me and James?!" he exclaimed and I laughed as I could see it quite clearly.

"What did you say when she asked you?" I asked him, intrigued. This made him laugh.

"We started off being nice, honestly…and then we got bored and kept winding her up by telling her how truly awful she looked in everything" he said, unable to stop grinning at the memory. I whacked him on the arm lightly.

"You're so mean" I told him but he just shrugged.

"Who was she trying to impress anyway?" he asked, looking at me with interest. I hesitated slightly. That was a good question. After everything that had happened that drunken night I was beginning to think it may have been Remus….

"No idea. I just thought that was normal Fiona behaviour" I told him, avoiding eye contact slightly as I knew I was lying ever so slightly. Sirius didn't seem to notice as again he laughed.

"I guess you're right there" he replied. I hadn't noticed until now that we were only a couple of corridors away from the common room. We were nearly there when Sirius froze and pulled me to a stop. I saw him frown and look around the hallway, until his face broke out into a grin. I opened my mouth to say something but Sirius shook his head.

"This is James' favourite spot" he whispered quietly to me. I was thoroughly nonplussed until he beckoned me over to a classroom with the door slightly ajar. I watched his face break out into a massive grin before he moved to allow me to see. I couldn't help my eyes widening in complete surprise. Stood there, kissing each other like it was going out of fashion were James and Lizzy. I moved away to see Sirius trying desperately to hold in his laughter. I shook my head at him, although I was unable to keep the grin off my face. He moved over to take my hand before he led me away towards the common room. It wasn't until we were a fair distance away that he burst out laughing.

"That is priceless" he said through his laughter. "One minute he's acting like the world is ended because he kissed Lizzy and now he's back doing exactly that" he told me, still laughing. I shook my head at the thought of how Lizzy would be tomorrow. I wondered if she would even tell me…Well, I'd get it out of her somehow I'm sure. We were now nearly at the portrait and I wondered if they really would be up and waiting. However, I didn't get much of a chance to think about this until I felt myself being pulled to a stop once again. I turned to see Sirius looking slightly nervous again as he shuffled his feet slightly.

"I had a really good time tonight" he told me, looking at me, his grey eyes seemingly swirling with a mixture of emotion. I could feel his nervousness seep towards me as my heart started speeding up.

"Me too" I told him honestly, only managing a short sentence.

"We'll do it again sometime?" he questioned, looking at me with his trademark smile.

"I'd really like that" I told him, smiling back at him. He seemed to think about something for a moment before he moved so that he was standing directly in front of me. My breath caught as he looked down at me. He moved closer and bent down slightly. Before I had a chance to think I felt him kiss me, right on the corner of my mouth. He then backed away slightly, still smiling. My skin tingled slightly where he kissed me and I was left feeling slightly surprised at the seeming sincerity of it and the way it left me feeling. He said nothing to me but instead he pulled me in the direction of the portrait, our hands still entwined.

"After you" he said after stating the password. He let go of my hand as I made my way through the portrait and into the surprisingly empty common room. I heard Sirius follow me in and stand very close behind me.

"Where is everybody?" I heard him say quietly. There were only a couple of people floating about and they looked like they were only first or second years. All of a sudden I heard Sirius hit himself on the head. I whirled round to see just how close he was. I blushed but luckily he didn't seem to notice.

"Of course. Ravenclaw party. How could I forget?" he questioned to himself.

"Fancy going to a party?" he continued, now looking down at me with a grin. I smiled back at him,

"Sounds good to me" I told him but then hesitated. "What about 'being caught out of bounds?'" I asked him, mimicking what he had said earlier.

"Are you saying you don't want to go?" he asked me cheekily. I laughed and took hold of his hand, pulling him out of the common room.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. People paid absolutely no attention to the fact that we had arrived hand in hand and we slowly made our way through the crowds, keeping an eye out for our friends.

"Looks like I won't even need to ask how the date went" came a voice from behind us. I jumped slightly as I turned to see Fiona and Mandy standing there both wearing very large grins. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face.

"I'll leave you to it" Sirius said, sending me a wink before disappearing very quickly. As if he just left me to deal with this?!

"Come on. Tell us all!" Fiona said, dragging me over to a few spare seats.

"Why don't we do this when we can properly hear each other?" I asked her, having to raise my voice to be heard over the music. Mandy nodded, and Fiona seemed sceptical at first until Mandy nudged her and gave her an exasperated look.

"Alright, alright! Tomorrow then" she said, giving me a big smile.

"Tomorrow" I promised her. After this, they both dragged me over to get a drink where Mandy was quickly hailed by some of her fellow Ravenclaws which left me with Fiona.

"You look like you're dressed to try and catch somebody's attention" I told her, taking note of her figure hugging outfit. "Anybody in particular?" I asked her with a grin. She looked hesitant and avoided my eye as she shook her head.

"Not a certain Marauder?" I asked her, trying to be casual about it. I saw her sigh and cast a glance in said Marauders direction where he was stood with Sirius and Frank.

"I don't know…" Fiona said before slapping a hand over her mouth as she heard what she just said.

"Which means that you might possibly be trying to catch his attention!" I exclaimed happily. Sometimes it was a good thing that Fiona spoke before she thought.

"No! Yes! I don't know!" Fiona responded, seemingly very confused. She sighed as she looked over in that direction.

"Alright girls?" a voice interrupted our conversation. I looked round to see Callum stood there, making no attempts to hide how he was currently eyeing Fiona up.

"Hi Callum" Fiona said brightly, her eyes moving away from Remus.

"Fancy a dance?" he asked her. She hesitated for a moment before plastering a somewhat seductive smile on her face.

"Sure" she said, taking his hand and leading him on to the dance floor. Wait. What?! I was utterly confused.

"What's going on there?" I heard Sirius ask me. Looking round I could see that he had joined me now that I was stood on my own.

"In all honesty I'm completely baffled" I told him and he laughed slightly, although it didn't seem to reach his eyes. "What's wrong with her dancing with Callum anyway?" I asked him curiously, wondering why it was such a problem…unless Remus had said something…?

"No, nothing" he said quickly, shaking his head. "Lizzy not appeared yet?" he asked me with a smirk. I shook my head, unable to stop the smile that appeared.

"Reckon James will tell you where he's been?" I asked him and he laughed.

"He better!" he exclaimed, a grin still on his face. "Reckon Lizzy will tell you?" he asked me in return. I shrugged before replying,

"She told me last time because she was unable to keep it a secret. Who knows this time" I responded and he seemed to weigh up my words.

"Anyway. Seeing as we are sort of still be on a date, I think you owe me a dance" he told me with a smile, holding out his hand. I blushed a little at his words but accepted his hand and allowed him to lead me onto the dance floor. When we were there Sirius spun me with a small chuckle before his other hand found its way round my waist. My breath caught slightly at the action and I looked up at him to see him look quite happy at my reaction that he had obviously heard. I heard a slight commotion from behind me and watched as his eyes flickered over my head when I heard a small growl erupt. I spun round quickly to see Fiona and Callum dancing in what I could only describe as completely inappropriate for public viewing.

"Sirius, leave it" I said to him quietly. He however, didn't seem to take any notice and the growl got louder.

"Are you going to ruin our date?" I asked him, my voice still quiet. He seemed to take a bit more note of what I had said this time. He looked down at me, still looking very unimpressed. "Leave her to it. You can't control what she does…or who she does it with" I tacked on as an after thought.

"If James were here he would go mental" he said the growl still very much apparent in his voice.

"You know she'll go mental if you go over there" I tried to reason with him but he shook his head.

"It's for her own good" he growled. I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly Sirius. You can't decide that for her" I told him and his eyes snapped down to mine. He held eye contact for a while before sighing and giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"I know. Sorry, it's just…well she's pretty much my family isn't she?" he said quietly. I squeezed his hand back and he looked at me.

"I know how that feels" I told him and he smiled sadly at me. I attempted a smile back which only made him stop smiling. His eyes felt like they were boring into mine and I found myself unable to look away. He pulled me closer to him so that we were standing as close to each other as was physically possible. My breathing became shallower as he moved a hand to push some hair away from my face, his hand once again coming into contact with my scar. However, he didn't say anything as he tilted my chin ever so slightly and before I knew it he was kissing me and before I knew what I was doing I was kissing him back. It was a kiss filled with some sort of unsaid emotion and the intensity of it surprised me. However, it was soon over and I was left slightly disappointed. I think this showed as Sirius chuckled slightly, and I looked up to see him smiling his usual smile.

"Didn't want to make too much of a show in so public a space" he told me quietly and I blushed as I remembered just where we were. "Aha" he said abruptly and I looked up to see him looking behind me. "They've returned. Fancy having some fun?" he asked me with a cheeky smile. My heart was still racing so I settled with a nod and smile which for some reason made him chuckle. He took hold of my hand and led me off the dance floor where James and Lizzy were both stood, a couple of feet apart, trying to look casual.

"Good evening" said Sirius happily, a massive grin on his face. They both jumped at being addressed and immediately put smiles on their faces.

"Evening you two look like you've had a good date" Lizzy said very quickly, not taking a breath between words.

"It was brilliant, thank you Lizzy" said Sirius, still sounding ridiculously happy.

"Ally do you want to get a drink? Great" Lizzy said, again very quickly and without waiting for any sort of response she grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I turned round to see Sirius give me a wink before turning his attention to a very ruffled James.

"Woah, what's up?" I asked her when she finally stopped. She looked very flustered and kept nervously biting her lip.

"Nothing, nothing just fancied a drink" she said, the words spilling quickly out of her mouth. I grabbed her arm which made her look at me.

"Lizzy. What's up?" I asked her again, genuinely slightly concerned about her. This must have shown in my eyes as she stopped and took a deep breath. She looked around the room as she run a hand through her hair (it did look pretty ruffled).

"Nothing, I'm fine" she said, in a much more calm voice.

"Lizzy, you were acting like a right weirdo before…more than usual that is" I said, trying to lighten her mood. I knew exactly why she was being like this and it was the reaction that I had feared, however I didn't say anything. She gave a half hearted smile before looking at me.

"James" was all she managed to get out.

"James…" I repeated, indicating for her to carry on. She took a deep breath and looked at me straight in the eye.

"We kissed…again" she told me. I know that I probably shouldn't have but I couldn't help the grin that appeared on my face.

"And how, pray tell, did that happen?" I asked her, genuinely intrigued. She looked around and took a seat on one of the armchairs behind where we were standing and I sat down on one next to her.

"Oh Ally. One minute there was a whole load of us just talking and then it was just me and James and I'm not sure what came over me. I found myself flirting with him and it seemed like he was flirting back. And then somebody bumped into him and it pushed us close together and then next thing I know he's leading me out of the party and into a classroom and…yeah" she summed up. She looked deflated but I didn't quite understand why.

"What's the problem? You're both single" I told her gently. She thought about it for a moment before she seemed to straighten up a bit.

"I guess there's some truth in that" she replied, and I could see her thinking things over. She gazed off into the distance and I turned my attention to where Sirius and James were talking. The former caught my eye and very subtly made a thumbs up/thumbs down gesture. Knowing immediately what he was talking about I gave an equally subtle thumbs up sign. He grinned, sent me a wink and then turned his attention back to James.

"Oh my gosh. Please tell me you've seen how Fiona is dancing with Callum?!" came Alice's voice, floating over towards us. This was enough to snap Lizzy out of her gaze. Alice looked at me and I nodded reluctantly as Lizzy looked confused. Alice jerked her head behind her and Lizzy made a move to go and see what Alice was talking about.

"Good date?" Alice asked me, a small smile on her face. I nodded and replied with a smile and her smile widened.

"Promise to tell me all about it tomorrow?" she asked me, seeming somewhat hesitant.

"Sure I will" I told her reassuringly and she seemed to brighten a bit at this.

"OH MY GOSH. WHAT THE HELL?!" came Lizzy's yell of exclamation. I looked over to see her wide eyed looking very shocked.

"I literally have no idea!" Alice replied, also seeming to be quite shocked as she kept looking over in that general direction.

"I think it might have something to do with Remus" I said quietly, thinking things over. Both girls looked at me quizzically when I said this. "I was talking to her earlier, asking her if she was dressed to get somebody's attention. Then I sort of asked her whether she was looking to impress a certain Marauder and she sounded confused saying she didn't know" I whittled off quickly. "And then, Callum came over, eyes all over her asking her if she wanted to dance and she smiled… well seductively I guess and disappeared with him. Next thing I know that's happening" I rounded off pointing in their general direction.

"Oh my gosh. Fiona! She's obviously doing this to get Remus' attention" Lizzy said quietly, eyes flicking between the two of them.

"This has to be the worst idea she's ever had" Alice said exactly what I was thinking. "This isn't going to make Remus jealous – it's just going to completely dishearten him" she continued and I couldn't help but agree.

"Reckon we should intervene?" Lizzy asked as the pair of them made their way off of the dance floor. I wasn't sure but Alice seemed to agree with Lizzy.

"Definitely" she said and the pair of them sprang up. I followed them slowly to see that they had both gone over and were happily chatting away to Fiona, putting themselves between her and Callum. I looked over and saw that this had caught the attention of James and Sirius and the pair of them made their way over. They got there before me and their arrival seemed to completely deter Callum and he didn't stick around too long.

"What was going on there?!" I heard Lizzy exclaim as I finally reached the group.

"Yes Fiona. What exactly was going on there" Sirius asked her as well. Fiona simply rolled her eyes,

"Just having a bit of fun" she replied nonchalantly.

"A bit of fun?! Are you serious?!" James joined in, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"Yes. I am allowed to have some fun" Fiona replied, avoiding eye contact and instead scanning the crowd. We lapsed into silence for a while; Sirius and James were still staring at Fiona as was Alice. Lizzy however seemed to be very preoccupied.

"I think I'm going to call it a night" she said after a minute or so. I looked over at her with a frown but she ever so slightly shook her head. "I'll see you guys in the morning" she continued and with a quick smile she was gone. Alice looked over at me questioningly but I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I think I'm going to call it a night as well" I told them all. I was slightly worried about both Lizzy and Fiona and felt like we needed to have some chats tomorrow about stuff.

"Yeah me too" Alice said, nodding and looking at Fiona with concern still very much readable in her expression.

"We'll walk you" Sirius said, and I looked over to see a small smile on his face.

"Come on then Fi" Alice said, nudging her slightly. Fiona sighed before nodding and she slowly led the way out of the Ravenclaw common room.

It was a quiet walk back with the boys constantly checking the corridors for any signs of the teachers. However, we made it back safely and the girls disappeared quickly up the stairs.

"Ally?" Sirius questioned as I was about to follow them. I saw James roll his eyes but he was smiling.

"Night you two" he said as he moved past us and up the staircase. Sirius moved over to where I was standing.

"You really do look beautiful tonight you know" he said quietly, the crooked smile back. His words had their desired effect and I blushed deeply, avoiding eye contact with him. However, I felt his hand run along the length of my cheek and I slowly lifted my head up. He bent down slightly and gave me a soft, quick kiss on the lips.

"Good night" he said, his voice husky. I smiled up at him.

"Night Sirius. Thank you again for tonight, I've really enjoyed it" I told him, seeing his smile widen. And with that I made my way up the staircase and off to bed, feeling ridiculously happy.


	30. Reality Hits

**Lizzy's POV**

"Seriously, why are you always up so early?" I questioned grumpily as I took a seat opposite Ally for breakfast.

"Because I'm weird" she replied happily, chuckling slightly at my sleepy expression.

"Why are you up so early on a Sunday anyway?" she asked me, looking curious. I shrugged, unsure myself why I had woken up so blooming early.

"Nothing on your mind?" she questioned, her voice growing quiet. I looked up to see a trace of concern in her eyes. I knew exactly what she was referring to but was still unsure as to what I was thinking myself, let alone talk to her about it just yet.

"I'm fine, really" I told her, none too convincingly. However, it must have been enough to convince her as she didn't pursue the subject any further.

"I can't believe Fiona last night, how do you reckon she'll be today?" Ally asked, and I was grateful for the fact that she moved the focus away from me.

"Who knows. I have no idea why she even did it in the first place!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly with my hands before I realised I must look really weird.

"Was it out of character then?" Ally asked me. I guess she hadn't known Fiona as long as us so it was a fair question.

"Kind of. I mean the dancing bit was the flirting bit not so much. She has grown up with James remember and had a large influence from Sirius" I told her with a slight grin. Ally shook her head with a smile as she processed that thought. "Anyway, you have a lot to tell me" I told her with a grin as I carried on with my food. She smiled shyly at me and ducked her head slightly.

"Well, he took me to this room on the seventh floor that I have never noticed before. It was amazing; it had a massive fireplace in the middle and these massive windows that spanned the entire length of the wall" she started, despite her previous shy manner. I had to laugh; I ask her about her date and she tells me all about the room first. "What?" she questioned, her eyes portraying her confusion.

"I ask you about your date and you seem more enthralled about the room" I explained with a chuckle and she looked a little sheepish. "No it's fine!" I told her as I could see she was about to apologise. "Carry on" I demanded sending her a grin. She rolled her eyes but continued nonetheless.

"Well we just had dinner. He…well he spoke to Luke to ask him what I liked to eat and he composed a three course meal of all my favourite food" she told me with a blush, a smile spreading rapidly across her face. I literally stopped eating.

"He spoke to Luke?!" I exclaimed. Ally gave me a knowing look and a nod.

"Crazy, huh?" she asked me with a slight chuckle.

"Beyond crazy!" I told her. Fair play Sirius, fair play.

* * *

The rest of breakfast whizzed past as Ally recounted her date for the rest of the girls. Their reaction was pretty much the same as mine and even Lily looked impressed. The Marauders had turned up half way through but had sat further up the table. I caught James' eye and he flashed me a grin before sitting down. I was left unsure what to think but was brought back to the present by the voicing of a certain question.

"Did you kiss?" Alice asked her, a slight smirk on her face. I turned to look at Ally who gave away her answer by blushing slightly. She nodded slightly and Alice let out a triumphant "Ha!" Ally said nothing, the colour still very apparent in her cheeks.

"Anyway, on a similar subject, care to share Fi?" Alice asked Fiona, moving the attention away from Ally. The latter seemed very grateful for this, a stark contrast from the former. Fiona groaned and banged her head on the table.

"Please don't" I just managed to make out a grunt coming from underneath her mop of blonde hair.

"You're lucky James wasn't there for most of it" Alice said darkly, now glancing over at the Marauders.

"I had to somewhat restrain Sirius" Ally told her, a slight trace of concern apparent in her voice.

"I don't know what came over me" Fiona said, and she looked up with a very embarrassed look on her face. "Oh crap crap crap. See you later" she muttered quickly looking past us and before we could say anything she vanished from her spot and more or less ran out of the Great Hall. Following her, my eyes landed on what had caused her sudden departure; Callum.

"Reckon we should try and track her down?" I asked, turning to the others. Lily was frowning, looking at Callum.

"Give her a bit, then we'll see if we can find her" she said slowly, thinking things over.

"What is going on with her?" I questioned to nobody in particular. Ally and Lily shrugged but Alice seemed thoughtful.

"I reckon she might like Remus you know" she said thoughtfully. I heard an odd sort of spluttering noise coming from across the table and looked over to see Lily looking wide-eyed and shocked.

"I'm sorry but WHAT?" she managed to choke out, looking round at all of us, the shock very evident in her voice. Oh yeah, I had forgotten about Lily. I guess it was time to fill her in. We all glanced at each other and I could see Alice take a deep breath. Few, at least I didn't have to be the one to break the news.

"The other night, you know that Saturday when we went out with the Marauders?" Alice asked, looking at Lily. The latter nodded her head, eyes wide.

"Well that night she sort of kissed Remus" Alice said quietly. Lily looked thoroughly shocked and sat there in silence for a while.

"Wow" she managed at last. "Anything happened since…wait. What on Earth was she doing last night then?!" Lily exclaimed, looking bewildered. We all shrugged and she just looked even more confused then she did at first.

"Poor Remus" Alice said quietly. I looked up and followed her gaze to where the Marauders were currently sat (trying to aim spells at the Slytherins from across the room).

"Do you reckon Potter knows?" Lily asked, and I saw her frowning at said person.

"Probably not else we wouldn't have heard the end of it no doubt" I said, also looking in that general direction. I turned my attention back and could see Ally failing to hold in a grin as she looked at me. I blushed and attempted to roll my eyes to show that I thought she was being stupid but I reckon it didn't come across too well with flaming cheeks. However, she didn't say anything and we lapsed back into silence. As we sat there I let my mind drift over what had happened last night. Why was it that I kept kissing James? I mean, I didn't actually like him. I couldn't. He liked Lily, right?

* * *

**Lily's POV**

The next couple of weeks seemed to whiz past in a strange haze. Fiona had finally gotten over what had happened but was still trying to avoid Callum at any costs. I had started to look more closely at when she was around Remus and hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. I had started to wonder whether the girls were really right about it.

"Thought I would find you in here" came a whisper to my right, pulling me from my musings. Looking up, I saw that Ally had joined me in my spot in the library, getting some of her work out of her bag. I gave her a smile,

"Black?" I questioned. She blushed and nodded, a small smile on her face. Ally said no more but made a start on her work. I looked closely at my friend and how happy she had been lately. I know how much I hated the Marauders, especially Potter but it was beginning to get harder when I could see how happy Ally was when she was around them, especially Black. There was a raging conflict constantly going on in my head but I had to admit even to myself that Potter hadn't been so bad lately. I cringed as the thought crossed my mind and the action seemed to stir Ally's attention.

"What's up?" she asked me, a slight frown on her face. I waved my hand, quickly trying to thinking of something else.

"I was just beginning to think how hungry I was" I blurted out quickly. I saw her frown, an action that I now mirrored. Hungry? Seriously Lily? I cleared my head quickly and attempted a sheepish grin. "Hey I've been working here ages" I told her and she chuckled, shaking her head and I caught her muttering something that sounded horribly like 'marauders'.

"Well, we still have a while until dinner" she said, consulting her watch. I shrugged and turned back to my work and out the corner of my eye I saw her doing the same. I need to stop thinking Marauder thoughts.

* * *

Dinner time finally rolled around and Ally pulled me out of the library to go and get some food.

"I thought you said you were hungry?" she questioned, a curious look on her face. I shrugged,

"I was but then I got absorbed into my potions which _somebody_ just distracted me from" I told her, nudging her in the ribs.

"Hey, don't blame me – blame my stomach!" she said, patting it. I just laughed at her as we slowly made our way into the Great Hall. Looking down the table we finally spotted the girls sitting with Remus, Black and Pettigrew. Potter, thankfully, seemed to be absent.

"Evening ladies" Black said, winking at me before he turned his attention to Ally, sending her the smile he seemed to reserve just for her. I rolled my eyes but Ally smiled happily back at him.

We hadn't been there long when we were joined by a very pale looking Potter.

"Sirius, I need to talk to you" he said, his voice low and serious. Everybody stopped and looked up, Black looking confused.

"What is it?" he questioned. Potter gulped and shook his head.

"In private, please" he said quietly. Black looked over at Remus who just shrugged, looking as confused as the rest of us. Potter remained where he was, looking very uncomfortable.

"Okay" Black said at last. Potter started moving away and Black hurried after him.

"What on earth was that all about?" Fiona questioned, looking at Remus.

"I don't have a clue" he said quietly with a frown. Everybody lapsed back into silence, wondering what was going on. However, it wasn't long until Potter was back and sat down, looking shocked and still very pale (not that I was watching him closely or anything).

"Prongs, what's happened?" Remus asked him quickly, looking worried. Potter looked up and took a deep breath, getting a letter out of his pocket. Without saying anything he passed it to Remus who looked at it hesitantly. Potter pushed it towards him and he took it, quickly opening it and scanning. His eyes widened and his face paled.

"Could somebody please tell me what is going on?" Fiona demanded, slamming her fork down. This made both the boys jump and she looked expectantly at Potter.

"It's Sirius' Uncle Alphard. He's been killed" Remus said quietly.

* * *

**Allys POV**

The silence that followed Remus' revelation was deafening. I hadn't heard much about Sirius' family but he had told me about his uncle Alphard and how he was more of a father to him than his actual father. The pale, shaken, and anxious face of James was enough to tell me that Sirius was really suffering.

"Where's he gone?" Remus asked James quietly. The latter shrugged,

"I figured I'd give him some space for a bit" he said. Remus nodded and stared down at his plate. I couldn't believe what had happened. _'He's been killed'_ James' voice echoed in my head. I could only guess as to what this meant and it didn't make the situation any easier.

We sat around at dinner much longer than usual although everybody seemed to have lost their appetite. We barely spoke until I looked up and realised we were amongst the last in the Great Hall.

"Shall we go back up the common room?" Lily suggested tentatively. I looked up to see her looking cautiously at the two remaining Marauders.

"Yeah I think we should" Remus agreed and he made to stand up. We all followed suit, nobody really talking; it seemed to have really hit home what was happening out there.

I was torn as to what I was thinking about Sirius. Part of me wanted to be there for him but the other part was scared; scared of what his reaction would be when he saw us.

"Canis Major" came Remus' voice, attracting my attention to the fact that we had arrived at the common room. We slowly filed in only to stop suddenly. Confused, I looked up to see that, a few people ahead, Remus had stopped abruptly. Being shorter than everybody else, I hadn't a clue what was going on until everybody started moving again and I could see what had caused them to halt; Sirius was sat in front of the fire. After stopping for a few seconds, I cautiously followed suit. Remus, James and Fiona had all sat down but seemed to have not said anything as of yet. Lily hovered anxiously a few feet away and Alice seemed undecided whether to sit down. I took a deep breath and sat down next to Fiona, not looking at Sirius just yet.

"I know it's a stupid question but are you alright Sirius?" Fiona asked quietly. I looked across to see a blank look on his face, staring into the fire. He said nothing but sat staring.

"Padfoot?" James questioned and Sirius blanked.

"It was a stupid question Fiona" he barked, standing up quickly and glaring at us. "Obviously I'm not alright. I've just lost the only family I had left. HE'S BEEN MURDERED. YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE DO YOU? NONE OF YOU DO? HE'S GONE. LEFT ME. I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY LEFT" he yelled at us, his voice carrying across the common room. Everybody who was in there stopped what they were doing and fell silent.

"Sirius-" Remus began but he was cut off.

"DON'T TRY AND TELL ME THAT YOU'RE SORRY. OR YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH. BECAUSE YOU DON'T. YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY EVEN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND" he carried on yelling and with that he turned on his heel and stormed out of the portrait.

"Shit" Remus said, looking very shaken by that encounter.

"Give it ten and we'll go see him" James told him and Remus nodded in agreement. Fiona, Lily and Alice also looked very shaken and upset. I didn't know how I felt. Sirius knew about me, about the fact that I also didn't have anybody. If there was anybody here who could relate to his situation, it was me. I stood up and everybody looked at me. I could see a strange flicker of something in James' eyes but couldn't quite work out what it was.

"I'm going to bed. Night all" I said quickly and, not waiting around to hear anybody's reply, dashed off to the dormitory. Once up there I shut the door and flopped down on my bed, heart beating fast and a pain in my heart.

* * *

The next morning I woke up earlier than usual; not even Lily was up yet. I quickly and quietly showered and got dressed before going down to the common room to wait until the others emerged. As I sat there I went through everything that had happened. This couldn't be about me and my parents. This was about Sirius; he was grieving and angry that his uncle had been so cruelly ripped away from him. He wasn't purposely lashing out at us, it was just his way of coping and, in order for me to help him cope, I needed to push my life and feelings aside.

"You're up early" I heard a voice remark and I saw Remus walking my way. "Well, earlier than normal" he added on with a small smile. Looking closely I saw that he looked tired and I hoped this meant that he had found Sirius.

"How is he?" I asked, forgetting all politeness about greeting him. He sighed and flopped down on a seat next to me.

"He's just grieving. He doesn't know how to deal with it" he said quietly. Not very good then. "Ally?" I heard Remus question. I looked at him to see him looking very apprehensive. He shook his head suddenly as if clearing it. "Lily not up yet?" he asked. He had definitely changed his question very quickly at the last minute. I shook my head, wondering what he was going to ask me.

"Shall we go down to breakfast?" he asked, looking a bit edgy.

"Remus, are you okay?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Yeah, fine. Just, you know, bit worried about Sirius" he said, standing up and apparently waiting for me to do the same. Hmm. Something was up.

* * *

Remus and I had been down to breakfast for a while before we joined by our friends. Sirius and James were the last down and being around the former made me apprehensive. I think everybody was worried as the chatter seemed to die down and everybody avoided eye contact.

"Please, don't stop on my behalf" Sirius said shortly, and I looked up to see him glaring at us. Lizzy cast a worried glance at him before taking a deep breath.

"Anyway, after that Smith gave him a right verbal battering" she said, finishing off her story about Caleb Simons in muggle studies.

"I would have loved to have been there" Fiona added, looking across at the Hufflepuff table now.

"Have any of you guys finished the potions yet?" Lily asked, seemingly in her own little world.

"Eurgh. No I've still got that to do. Slughorn said he'll stick me in detention if I hand it in late again" Fiona said with a groan.

"Oh how mundane and hard your life is" Sirius drawled icily; a voice that did not suit him. Everybody stopped, not quite knowing what to do.

"I'm guna get off to class" Lily said quietly, standing up quickly.

"Yeah hurry off the lessons Evans. What would life be like for you if you were late?" Sirius snapped at her. Merlin, this was horrible. I could see that Lily looked slightly irked by this but she said nothing, instead she started walking off. Fiona, Lizzy and Alice all hurriedly got up and dashed off, clearly worried about Sirius' reaction. I, however, stayed put. Sirius glared at me and I stared right back at him.

"Aren't going to scurry off with them? I know how you hate to be late" he snapped. I had to remind myself that he wasn't doing this on purpose.

"I know you're hurt, but you can't blame this on us" I told him, determined to stand my ground. Sirius (and the rest of the Marauders) looked at me shocked.

"You don't know how I'm feeling" he said, his voice cold and hard.

"I beg to differ" I replied quickly, my voice just as hard as his. I heard a small intake of breathe from Remus and James but resumed my stare at Sirius. He blinked, also looking shocked but said nothing to me. Assuming he wasn't going to say anything, I stood up and began to walk out of the Hall, not looking back at them.

"Ally" a voice said to me right and somebody stretched their hand out to catch my arm. I stopped and turned to see Edward looking at me slightly concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking carefully at me. I was determined to put a smile on my face and guess it worked as he looked a bit happier.

"Sure I am" I told him shortly.

"I just…well we saw the girls exit the hall pretty quickly and then you and Sirius…" he trailed off, his eyes flickering over to the Gryffindor table which I had just previously occupied.

"He's just…going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment. It's alright, honestly" I told him, as he looked like he was going to question it.

"Okay, well you know where I am, where we are, if you need us" he said, gesturing to himself and Jacob who had stayed silent. I smiled, feeling more genuine about it this time,

"Thanks guys" I told the, before turning and continuing on my way out of the Hall. I wasn't sure if I had done the right thing by saying that to Sirius. I wanted him to know that I did understand and that I was there for him but I don't think that had worked very well. I guess I would just have to see how today went.

* * *

Sirius hadn't shown up all day. He had missed every lesson and lunch. I was starting to feel guiltier as the day went on and I myself skipped dinner. Instead I strolled through the castle and thought I would go up to my usual haunt which was the astronomy tower. I wasn't paying too much attention to my journey up there and only looked up when I had arrived and could feel the warm spring breeze blowing around me. I looked around and stopped when I saw a figure standing by the window. I would recognise his outline anywhere. I wasn't sure if I should be here and, after a few seconds of deliberation decided to leave him.

"Don't go" I heard his voice, quiet and hoarse. I hesitated, not moving from where I was. He turned to me, and in the glowing lights of sunset I could see the hurt and grief in his eyes. I didn't say anything but strode over to him and without a seconds thought hugged him. He hugged me back and we stood there for a few minutes, putting all the emotion into the hug.

"I'm sorry" he told me, moving slightly away from me so that he could see me. I shook my head quickly.

"Don't be silly, you really don't need to apologise to me" I told him. He sighed, taking my hand and moving over to the window. I followed him and stood looking out over the grounds. "I really am sorry about your uncle" I continued, turning to him. He gave me a sad smile before resuming his own gaze over the grounds.

"How did you cope?" he asked me abruptly. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I sighed,

"Truthfully?" I asked and he nodded, looking over at me. "I didn't. I completely pushed everybody out. I felt like I was on my own, like I had been abandoned" I told him and he watched me carefully; this was the first time he had heard any of this. "It hurt so much. It took a while for Sarah and Phil to get through to me but they did, eventually. It still hurts and it always will. But, I know that…well I _think_ that, they wouldn't want to see me down all the time. They would want me to enjoy my life" I told him quietly. He sighed and squeezed my hand, looking at me sadly but didn't say anything. Instead, we stood in silence for a while, watching as the sun slowly set over the grounds.

"I'm going to head back to the common room" I told him, beginning to feel the cold night air moving into the room. He turned to me and nodded.

"I guess I should come with you" he said, his voice hoarse but I shook my head.

"Not if you don't want to" I told him quietly. He sighed and his body visibly slumped.

"I don't know what I want" Sirius said, his voice filled with emotion. "No, I'll come with you" he continued, changing his mind again. He looked up with a sort of determined look in his eye. I nodded and began to make my way out as I felt Sirius come up behind me and take my hand again. He looked at me with a small, sad, smile but said nothing as we slowly made our way back to the tower.

As we finally entered I noticed that it was unusually quiet which could only be a good thing if Sirius was going to start shouting again. Another very unusual thing that I noticed was that Lily was sat with Fiona, Alice, Remus AND Peter and James. How bizarre. I hesitated slightly, unsure if Sirius would want to join them but he strode forward, pulling me with him. At the sound of our approach the six of them turned around and all looked slightly worried. I went and took a seat next to James on the sofa but Sirius stayed where he was.

"I just want to say sorry for snapping at you guys last night. And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier Evans" Sirius said, looking round at everybody before his eyes rested on Lily. She looked visibly surprised but quickly composed herself.

"It's fine Black, really" she told him, her voice uncharacteristically warm whilst talking to him.

"Don't worry about it mate" Remus told him, giving him a small smile. Sirius looked like he was gong to say something but then seemed to decide against it.

"I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning" he said quietly, and, giving me a small smile, he made his way to the boys dormitory.

"How did you manage that one?" James asked, turning to me looking somewhat relieved.

"Just talked to him is all" I said with a shrug, thinking that I hadn't even really done that. I turned to see Remus and Lily looking at me with an odd expression on their face, one that I had seen on James' face the previous night. Everybody remained silent before Fiona broke it,

"I knew I had forgotten something! My letter!" she exclaimed, jumping up and hitting herself on the forehead.

"What are you like Fi?" Lily asked, chuckling lightly.

"I'd better go get it" she said and started to make her way out of the common room.

"I'll come with you" Alice told her and followed her out. The rest of us lapsed back into silence. I was currently still wondering about Lily's presence here, especially now that Fiona and Alice had gone and was waiting for an outburst at James.

"Ally?" James questioned suddenly and I turned to see him exchange a swift glance with Remus. I looked at him expectantly but he seemed hesitant. "About what you said at breakfast…" he started, continuing to look slightly uncomfortable. I frowned, thinking back to breakfast. _'You don't know how I'm feeling', 'I beg to differ'_ the words came flashing back to me in an instant and it's as if everything clicked into place. My reply to that, James' reaction to Sirius shouting at us how we didn't understand last night, Remus this morning; they knew.

"You know?" I asked him quietly, my eyes wide. He nodded his head, his eyes conveying a mixture of sadness and worry.

"Sirius…well Sirius told us. That night that you two had an argument" he continued. I thought back to when I had shouted at him in the astronomy tower. I should have known then that he would have told his best friends what had happened. I wasn't sure how I felt about this. I mean, it was always going to come out at some point but was that really the best way for it? I shook my head, it didn't really matter now I guess.

"We're sorry that Sirius told us and not you" Remus said, and I snapped my head up to see him watching me carefully.

"It's okay" I told him quietly but he still seemed unsure. "Really" I said. "It was going to come out at some point wasn't it" I told them with a shrug. The guys still seemed a bit cautious but I didn't have the energy to continue trying to reassure them.

"I think I'm going to call it a night too, it's been a long day" I told them, beginning to get up. I glanced over at Lily to see her looking slightly worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked in nothing more than a whisper. I nodded and gave her a smile,

"Honestly, I'm fine. Just tired is all" I reassured her. She gave me a small smile before leaning back.

"Night all" I told them and heard them all quietly say good night to me as I made my way up to the dormitory. It really had been a long day and had taken a toll on me emotionally. I needed to get a good nights sleep if I was going to be any use in lessons tomorrow and Sirius needed me. I just hoped he would let me.


End file.
